Cherry and Atticus Visit Candy Land
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: In a strange event, Vanellope somehow notifies Cherry on her phone about a party in the board game world that is known as Candy Land. When they get there, it turns out to be an upcoming Sweet Celebration hosted by King Kandy, and his daughters, Princesses Lolly and Frostine. The Sugar Rush racers join on the adventure while Vanellope starts to feel like she doesn't have a family.
1. Chapter 1

Previously on an adventure with Cherry and Atticus...

"That's weird... I have a message on my Sugar Rush Speedway app..." Cherry said as she held her phone and gathered with the others after they had found Nemo and brought him back home after a very long ocean adventure.

"What's it say?" Mo asked.

Cherry soon opened up the app and the loading screen then appeared. The logo came up and Vanellope appeared to be running on the screen and knocked on the screen.

"That's never happened before..." Cherry commented.

"Cherry! Atticus! I need you!" Vanellope piped up from within the app as she jumped up and down to get their attention.

"And I can already tell that's never happened before." Atticus said.

"Heeeelp!" Vanellope called out.

"Weird, it's like you guys know Vanellope or something." Mo replied.

"Um... Well..." Atticus and Cherry smiled bashfully about that.

"We kinda do." Atticus told her.

"What?" Mo asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, we went to a video game arcade once and had an adventure with her and Wreck-it-Ralph." Cherry replied.

Mo glanced to them. "You know, if I didn't know you guys for as long as I have, I'd think you were crazy..." she then said. "I can't believe it, but I feel like I don't have much of a choice."

"So, how do we help her?" Patch asked.

"Well, we don't know what she needs help with." Cherry replied.

"Can't you get in the game and see her like you did that one time?" Mo asked.

Cherry and Atticus looked to each other before shrugging. "We don't even know how that happened." they then explained at the same time.

"Maybe if we use magic this time." Patch said.

"I guess that could work..." Cherry shrugged. "This better be good though."

"I'm sure it is." Atticus said.

Atticus and Patch soon used combined magic and they were sent into the world of Cherry's phone.

* * *

"Hey, look, an Emoji adventure." Mo pointed out.

"NO!" Cherry cried out about doing that. "NO, GOD, PLEASE NO! **NOOO!** "

Luckily their magic blocked the emoji adventure world from the world they were actually sent in.

"Phew..." Cherry whispered. "I am never having an Emoji adventure."

"Yeah, that'd be pretty stupid." Patch replied.

"So then, where are we?" Mo asked before seeing their surroundings. "Wait, are we in what I think we're in?"

"I guess we're in the land of Sugar Rush now." Cherry said.

"Hey, it's about time you guys got here." Vanellope said with her hands in her pockets.

"What's the emergency, Vanny?" Cherry asked.

Vanellope mumbled out a response.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" Atticus asked.

"Be my family." Vanellope said.

"What?" Cherry and Atticus asked.

"Ya guys are like family to me," Vanellope said. "'Specially with how you saved me from Turbo with Ralph back at the arcade. There's a birthday party goin' on, and I don't wanna be the only one there without a family."

"Wait, you guys have families in Sugar Rush?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah... 'Cept me..." Vanellope nodded.

"Okay then, where's the party?" Atticus asked.

"In Candy Land." Vanellope said.

"Candy Land?" Cherry replied. "But that's a board game, and you're a video game character."

"Hey, I can't help it if Rancis's grandfather thought of it." Vanellope shrugged.

"Rancis?" Cherry asked before smirking. "Oh, yeah, your boyfriend."

Vanellope blushed. "Is not."

"Is so." Cherry smirked.

"Hmph," Vanellope huffed before turning around to lead the way to the birthday party. "You're lucky you're my friend, Geeky McDorkus."

"Vanellope doesn't have a family?" Mo frowned as she knew how that felt. "That must be so sad, even if she's the princess of Sugar Rush."

"So what's the party for?" Patch asked Vanellope.

"It's Rancis's birthday," Vanellope said. "He insisted I be the guest of honor."

"Aww~" Cherry and Atticus smirked.

"Quit it!" Vanellope told them.

"Hey, you wanted a family, you're pretty much our little sister." Cherry replied.

"Cherry's right." Atticus smiled.

"Hmph..." Vanellope rolled her hazel eyes.

* * *

They soon walked around until they came to what looked like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup house and found two men by the door, one was a young adult man and the other was an elderly man.

"Well, hello there!" The young adult man smiled. "So glad you could make it."

"This is Rancis's dad, Reese Jr, and his granddad, Grandpappy Reese." Vanellope introduced.

"It's nice to meet you both." Atticus said.

"Welcome to the party," Reese Jr smiled. "Ah, I just wish the missus could see this..." he then sighed as he thought about his wife who was Rancis's mother.

The others knew what that meant and were soon invited into the house, seeing the Sugar Rush Racers where they could see the parents which appeared to be Jubileena's mother: Cheri Momma, Candle Head's mother: Mama Flambe, Gloyd's parents: Lady Pumpkin and Lord Gourd, Taffyta's mother: Lady Berry, Minty's mother: Mentha, Adorabeezle's mother: Ms. Winterpop who seemed quiet and more to herself, Swizzle's parents: The Malarkeys who seemed like they came from the 1970's, a quiet man who was the father of Crumbelina: Mr. Di Caramello, and Snowanna's mother: J. Rainbeau who seemed to be dancing and having more fun than anyone else.

"Oh, Taffy Cakes, you got a smudge on your cheek." Lady Berry cooed to her daughter.

"Mother!" Taffyta cried out, embarrassed from the nickname.

'Typical response out of embarrassment.' Patch thought to himself.

"Hey, gang! I'm here!" Vanellope smiled.

The Sugar Rush racers soon came to see her.

"Oh, uh, h-hi, Vanellope," Rancis smiled bashfully. "K-K-Kind of crazy my birthday's before a big celebration from K-King Kandy, huh?"

"You said it." Vanellope smiled back.

"King Candy?!" Cherry and Atticus asked.

"Relax, ya guys, it's not like that last time," Vanellope told them. "King Kandy is the King of Candy Land, uh, doy!"

"Whew." Cherry and Atticus sighed.

"King Candy?" Mo asked about the evil one.

"Let's just say going Turbo is something young video game characters shouldn't do." Cherry replied.

"Yeah, it causes trouble for the game the character is in and the game it was once in." Atticus added.

"I see..." Mo replied.

* * *

Eventually, everyone sat down, and Rancis's father and grandfather sang Happy Birthday as they had a peanut butter cup cake for Rancis as he sat in the center of the table and he smiled, and all of the Sugar Rush Racers joined in as the cake was set down, and he then blew out the candles. Vanellope smiled to the racers who had their family members, but pouted as she seemed to be an orphan. Atticus, Cherry, and Mo frowned as they could understand when they were orphans before Atticus and Cherry reunited with their families and Mo was adopted and was reunited with her own brother and sister. Everyone else had fun.

"So, what's this about a celebration with King Kandy?" Atticus asked.

"There is an annual Sweet Celebration hosted by him with his daughters, Princesses Lolly and Frostine!" Candle Head piped up.

"It must be important." Patch said.

"Oh, of course it is if it's hosted by King Kandy." Taffyta smiled sweetly.

"How would you describe this King Kandy?" Cherry asked.

"Much better than the one who tried to take over Sugar Rush when he wiped our memories of Vanellope being our princess." Swizzle replied.

"He's very sweet, and nice, and a great king," Minty added. "Oh, you guys will just love him. I'd give anything to live in his Candy Castle."

"Well, I guess I can kinda know him since I'm the princess back home... Even though I don't know anything about my own family, unlike these guys here..." Vanellope shrugged. "Ralph's like family to me though."

"That's true." Atticus said.

"You think maybe, just maybe, you could be related to King Kandy of Candy Land?" Cherry suggested.

"Ah, thanks, Geeky, but I doubt it." Vanellope shrugged.

"You never know." Mo said.

Vanellope just shrugged and Rancis gave a small frown as he really wanted to help out the black-haired girl. Not just because she was the princess of where he and the others came from, but because he liked her. Like, really, really liked her.

"I wonder what flavors we'll taste?" Patch smiled.

"Oh, just about everything is edible in Candy Land." Candle Head giggled as she drank a little too much root beer.

"Uh, is she okay?" Mo asked.

"Candle Head?~..." A maternal voice rang.

"Yes, Mama?" Candle Head blushed.

"How much root beer did you drink?" Mama Flambe asked.

"Erm... Not a lot?" Candle Head smiled nervously to her mother.

"Test her breath." Cherry told Mama Flambe.

"Hmm..." Mama Flambe hummed before taking out a breathalyzer.

"Is... Is that a breathalyzer?" Mo asked, a bit uneasily.

"Root beer can be dangerous to young ones if they drink too much." Mama Flambe advised as root beer was almost like actual beer in both Sugar Rush and Candy Land which made sense in a way.

"Ohh." Mo said.

"Hmm... Just as I suspected..." Mama Flambe said to her daughter. "Maybe you should go to bed early tonight, Candle Head~"

"But Mom~..." Candle Head complained.

"I'm sorry, Candle Head, but I think it might be best," Mama Flambe replied. "We don't want you sick in time for the Sweet Celebration tomorrow, do we?"

"Aw, Mom!" Candle Head pouted.

"Now come on, you know I'm doing this for your own good." Mama Flambe said.

Candle Head pouted, but then nodded to her mother as she knew best. Mama Flambe cooed and hugged Candle Head, kissing her forehead. Vanellope frowned as she would never know a mother's love either.

* * *

Eventually, the kids were in the backyard, playing together as Rancis's father and grandfather were cleaning up a bit.

"So, uh, Grandpappy, you've lived in Sugar Rush for a while," Ranics said to his grandfather. "Do you know anything about Vanellope's family?"

"I'm sorry, sonny, but I don't really recall much of anything about the von Schweetz family except that the King and Queen were the rulers of the land before they mysteriously disappeared after Vanellope was born." Grandpappy Reese said to his grandson.

"What do you mean they mysteriously disappeared?" Mo asked.

"From what I remember, they were called out of town for royal business shortly after Vanellope was born... I don't believe they've been seen since..." Grandpappy Reese replied.

"Do you mean they could've been... They could've... D... D... Died...?" Mo asked, fearing the worst for Vanellope.

"I'd hate to think so, but that might be the case." Grandpappy Reese replied in regretful sorrow.

"I hope not." Mo said.

"I was hoping you could help me find out." Rancis said to his grandfather.

"I'm sorry, sonny," Grandpappy Reese replied. "I'm afraid I don't really know where King and Queen von Schweetz might be. There's still hope, but... I kind of gave up on that a long time ago."

"Thank you though." Rancis sighed softly as he really wanted to help Vanellope.

"But there must be someway to find out what happened to them and where they are." Patch said.

"I was hoping there was," Rancis frowned. "Vanellope's been so unhappy lately."

"Maybe we'll find out if they're alive or not after the celebration." Mo said.

"Maybe..." Rancis replied. "I just want Vanellope to be happy."

"You're a good friend, Rancis." Atticus smiled.

"Um, th-thank you." Rancis smiled back, though blushing as he thought about Vanellope.

"And we can tell you want to be more than just friends with her." Cherry smirked.

"W-What?" Rancis's eyes widened. "N-N-No, Vanellope and me are just friends. Like Swizzle and Minty."

"Aren't those two dating?" Cherry smirked.

Rancis blushed even more as that question made him look bashful.

"That blush tells us that you _do_ want to date Vanellope." Patch smirked.

Rancis turned away bashfully.

"Aw, don't worry about it, son," Reese Jr smiled to his son. "I felt the same way when I met your mother for the first time."

"Y-You did?" Rancis smiled.

"It's perfectly natural," Reese Jr smiled back. "I'm sure it seems scary, but once you let your feelings out, you feel much better."

"He's right." Atticus added.

"You all make it sound so easy." Rancis sighed to himself.

"It can feel like it's a challenge." Mo said.

"Yeah... It does..." Rancis replied.

"I was nervous the first time I met Mo." Atticus confessed.

"Oh, this should be good." Cherry smirked.

Atticus soon noticed the rest of the racers, looking interested to hear this too.

"Is there a place we can sit and talk?" Atticus asked.

"Of course," Grandpappy Reese replied as he led the way to the sitting room. "I tell little Rancis stories over here all the time, especially from the olden days before we all lived in the Sugar Rush Kingdom."

* * *

Everyone was soon in the sitting room.

"Well... You guys, there was a time before I knew about Mo..." Atticus said. "I remember that Cherry asked me to come spend the Fourth of July with her and some of her family from out of the country."

"Did you and Cherry ever date?" Gloyd asked.

"No, no, we never saw each other like that," Atticus replied. "Cherry was always like a sister to me."

"It's true, and Atticus was always like a brother to me." Cherry said.

The others nodded as that made sense of why Cherry and Atticus never dated.

"I have wanted a girlfriend for a while, but I tried to keep it a secret from Cherry," Atticus continued. "I was always a gentleman. Opening doors for a lady, dancing with her properly... I never really knew what true love was like for the longest time, but I remember that Cherry's parents advised to me that I would know it once it would hit me, like lightning."

"Aw!" The girl racers smiled.

Some of the boys looked unsure, mostly Gloyd like he was going to be sick.

"And then, I met Mo..." Atticus continued. "From first sight, I thought she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen, even if she was a bit scruffy and filthy."

"Well, sorry if my last bath at that time was six months ago." Mo smirked playfully.

"Ew!" The others cringed.

"Well, I used to live on the streets with a bunch of dogs!" Mo defended.

"Anyway, I felt so different when I first saw Mo," Atticus said. "Something hit me, like I was shot with a love arrow from Cupid. I had to impress her somehow... Something in my head just clicked and told me to go with her."

"Aw!" The female racers smiled.

"I did my best... And I guess it worked." Atticus smiled back.

"It did." Mo smiled as she kissed his cheek and hugged his shoulders.

"Get a room." Cherry smirked.

Atticus and Mo stuck their tongues out at her and all of the racers laughed to that as it was kind of funny.

"That's always funny." Patch smiled.

Rancis smiled as he felt motivated now about telling Vanellope how he felt about her.

* * *

Later on, there was a special dinner, and then, it was time for a sleepover, because tomorrow in Candy Land was a special day, for all of the people in Candy Land, but also the Sugar Rush Racers.

"This is going to be a great night." Mo said.

Atticus and Patch looked over the Sugar Rush boys while Cherry and Mo took care of the Sugar Rush girls, which there were many more of.

"Man, I wish we could have an update in our game with more boys." Gloyd crossed his arms as he stood with Swizzle and Rancis.

"It is kind of and don't take any offense from this, but boring." Mo said.

"Tell me about it," Gloyd replied before smirking. "Oh, well, at least there's more girls screaming whenever I throw pranks on the others."

"And then you get slapped." Swizzle smirked.

"Yeah... Thanks for the reminder." Gloyd groaned.

Swizzle chuckled innocently.

"All right, let's get you guys to bed," Patch said. "We have a big day tomorrow."

"Aww!" The racers pouted.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't want you guys too sleepy for the big Sweet Celebration you keep talking about," Patch replied before drooling. "It sounds absolutely amazing..."

"Alright." The racers sighed.

* * *

The racers soon got their pajamas on and brushed their teeth as they went to get ready for bed.

"Everyone ready?" Mo asked.

"All right." The young racers replied.

"All right, time for bed." Cherry told them.

The boys and girls then split up to do the sleeping part of the sleepover since it was Rancis's birthday, and tomorrow was Candy Land's annual Sweet Celebration.

"Tomorrow's going to be so sweet." Mo smiled.

"No pun intended?" Atticus chuckled.

Mo giggled to him while Cherry slightly rolled her eyes.

"Oh, brother." The perky goth groaned.

Eventually, everyone was in bed as it was night time in Candy Land and tomorrow was a big day for everyone. Vanellope sighed as she looked to her friends since they each had family members while she was an orphan, even though she was their princess/president.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day soon came. A rooster crow was heard as everyone woke up after their sleepover. Crumbelina nudged Vanellope to wake her up.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Crumby," Vanellope smiled to her best friend. "How'd you sleep?"

Crumbelina smiled, even though she never spoke a word, Vanellope always knew what she would say if her best friend could talk. Even when the others were affected by Turbo/King Candy, they were still friends, like that time Crumbelina allowed Vanellope to use her racing kart to save their world, even if Vanellope was called a glitch at the time.

"I slept pretty good too." Vanellope said after a moment.

Crumbelina smiled as she was happy to hear that.

"Let's get some breakfast, huh?" Vanellope suggested.

Crumbelina nodded in agreement. The two of them soon went to get themselves some breakfast.

"Now, kids, I want you to make sure you get to the Sweet Celebration in time." Reese Jr told the younger ones.

"We will, sir." The racers replied.

"This is going to be amazing," Rancis smiled. "We're gonna see King Kandy and the Princesses!"

"Yeah!" Mo added.

"Have fun, kids." Grandpappy Reese smiled.

"Thanks, Grandpappy, we will!" Rancis smiled back.

"We sure will." Vanellope added.

* * *

The adults waved the kids off as they soon went through Candy Land to make it to the Sweet Celebration. Vanellope looked back to them with a smile, but then sighed as she thought about her long-lost parents again. Who were they and where were they now? Did they love her? Were they kind people? A thousand thoughts flooded her mind, and where she hoped that those questions would be answered by someone that would know about them. They walked down a colorful path as they left the adults as they wandered through the wonderful world of Candy Land, beginning a brand new adventure with each other.

"I really missed ya guys," Vanellope said to Cherry and Atticus. "Ya gotta come back to Litwak's sometime."

"We sure will." Atticus smiled.

"Promise?" Vanellope asked.

"We promise, Vanny," Cherry said. "We'll even bring Mo and Patch with us this time."

"Yeah." Atticus nodded.

Patch sniffed the air. "Does anyone else smell gingerbread?" he then asked.

"We must be close to the gingerbread people." Rancis said.

"Gingerbread people?" The others asked.

"Ah, someone must be going to the Candy Castle along with us." Minty smiled as she held hands with Swizzle.

"Oh, that sounds so sweet!" Taffyta grinned innocently. "They must be adding their own flavor to the celebration."

Cherry just glanced at Taffyta, she was never really found of the strawberry taffy girl, especially with how she was the lead bully against Vanellope when Sugar Rush was affected from Turbo, and not to mention that time when they had to go against her and The Phantom Virus with Mystery Inc.

"I can tell you're glancing at me, Cherry." Taffyta said.

"Hello, there... Taffy Cakes." Cherry hid a small smirk.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened." Taffyta said.

"I'm sure you are..." Cherry replied.

"I couldn't help it... The Phantom Virus was manipulating me..." Taffyta told her. "I would never wanna hurt anyone!"

"Well, viruses can do crazy things to programs." Mo said.

I promise, I will never hurt you guys ever again." Taffyta smiled as she curtsied to Atticus, Cherry, Mo, and Patch.

"Alright, but we're going to keep an eye on you." Mo said.

"Fair enough, now, off we go." Taffyta replied.

* * *

They soon kept going, and Patch ended up following the scent of gingerbread since it was distracting to him since it was food and he was a dog and all, and where unknown to him, this would lead to meeting a new friend. Patch continued to follow the scent until he ran into a gingerbread house which appeared to have a family in it.

"I hope it's not far," A gingerbread man said until the tree seemed to fuss over him. "Mom! You've frosted me five times already! I'm going to be late!"

The other gingerbread kids seemed to chuckle to this. Patch could relate with how mothers and siblings could be.

"I just want you to look your best, Jib," The gingerbread mother smiled. "After all, this is a very, very-"

"Special day, yes, I know," Jib replied. "This is the Sweet Celebration!"

"Hmm... Maybe you should wear a tie." The gingerbread mother said, using green frosting to make her son a bow-tie.

'Wow, she's like my mother only as gingerbread.' Patch thought to himself.

"Mom, it's getting late!" Jib complained.

"Hold still, Jib," The mother smiled. "Oh, this is a big responsibility. You're taking our gingerbread frosting to the Castle this year."

"Are you sure they'll like our icing?" Jib frowned at first.

"Oh, of course, there's none better in all of Candy Land," The mother smiled as she put something in his backpack. "Neat, and sweet, and sticks to just about everything. Let me take a look at you~"

"I think he looks perfect, ma'am." Patch said as he came out

The gingerbread family looked over.

"Huh? Who are you?" Jib asked Patch.

"My name is Patch Pongo." Patch smiled.

"Well, hello there," Jib's mother replied. "Oh, are you from Sugar Rush here for the Sweet Celebration?" she then asked.

"Not exactly." Patch said, though he wasn't sure what he could say.

"Oh, then, where are you from?" The gingerbread mother asked.

"This might sound strange, but I'm from the real world," Patch replied. "Um... Well, we don't have Candy Land where I come from, and Sugar Rush is a video game."

"Ah, you must be one of Vanellope's friends," The gingerbread mother said. "I was going to guess that, or you were one of Taffyta's cousins from out of town."

"Taffyta has a cousin from out of town?" Patch replied.

"Ah, yes, her name is Strawberry Shortcake." The gingerbread mother smiled.

"Is she nice?" Patch asked.

"Oh, she's one of the sweetest girls you could ever meet." Jib's mother smiled about the one called Strawberry Shortcake.

"I can already tell," Patch smiled back before noticing the others weren't with him. "Uh-oh..."

"Oh, my brave gingerbread boy's first time away from home!" The gingerbread mother smiled to Jib. "Now, you remember what to do."

"Take our gift of icing to the candy castle, then place it in the sweet circle by noon," Jib replied. "Don't worry, Mom, I can do it, and Patch can come with me."

"I know you can, Jib." The gingerbread mother smiled as she hugged her son.

"You can count on me, Mom!" Jib smiled and hugged back. "Come on, Patch, you can come with me to Candy Castle."

"That's where I was headed anyway." Patch smiled back.

"I have my backpack, and my gingerbread icing, and my map!" Jib smiled as they walked down a path together.

"And Jib? If you ever feel lost or don't know what to do-" Jib's mother prompted.

"Use my head?" Jib replied.

"Use your heart." Jib's mother smiled.

"She's right; the heart always knows the way." Patch said.

"Thank you, Mom!" Jib smiled and waved.

"Bye, Jib's family!" Patch added as he followed the young gingerbread boy down the colorful path.

The others called back and waved as they began a brand new adventure through Candy Land together.

"So is everything eatable here?" Patch asked Jib as they walked.

"Pretty much, yes, but please, don't eat me." Jib replied.

"Don't worry, I won't." Patch smiled.

Jib smiled back as they began to make it to the Candy Castle together.

* * *

A lot of people were eager as they came to the Candy Castle before them as it was the annual Sweet Celebration which was special and valuable towards the people of Candy Land.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Rancis smiled.

"I can't believe we're honored guests to King Kandy's Castle!" Minty beamed. "Ooh, this is a great time!"

"Yes, you are..." Swizzle smiled to her before blushing. "Oh, I mean, yes, it is."

"And looks like we're not the only ones that have arrived." Taffyta smiled as she noticed her cousin.

"Is that you, Taffy Cakes?" A voice asked.

"Sure is!" Taffyta beamed.

"Who do we have here?" Mo asked.

A girl with short crimson hair in a floppy hat with strawberry print on it in a striped long-sleeved shirt and jeans with sneakers came out.

"Everyone, this is my cousin, Strawberry Shortcake." Taffyta introduced.

"And I see you all know my cousin, Taffyta Muttonfudge." The redheaded girl replied.

"We sure do," Atticus said. "Although, we've met on bad terms the first and second time."

"Oh?" Strawberry Shortcake asked.

"Uh... Yeah... I wasn't exactly the nicest girl around..." Taffyta replied. "Especially around Princess Vanellope since King Candy tricked us, and that time we ran into The Phantom Virus."

"But we understand it was because she only had bad influences to thank for her behavior." Atticus said.

"So, um, Strawberry, do you have any pets?" Mo asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I do," Strawberry replied. "I have a cat named Custard."

"Where _is_ Custard?" Taffyta asked.

Strawberry was about to answer that question only to see that her cat wasn't anywhere near. "Custard? Oh, Custard, where did you go?" she then asked out of concern.

"Strawberry? Custard? I don't know if I can take any more of this." Cherry groaned.

"Says _Cherry_." Vanellope smirked.

Jubileena even giggled as she was themed around cherry candies.

"Ha, ha." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Oh, she must be with Pupcake." Strawberry smiled.

"Okay, then where's he?" Atticus asked.

"Pupcake?!" Cherry's voice complained.

"They couldn't have gone too far," Strawberry said as she began to look for her pets. "It's not like them to scamper off like this."

"Isn't Pupcake easily distracted?" Taffyta asked her cousin.

"Oh, you have no idea," Strawberry replied. "I guess he's just a curious little puppy."

"I think I know what you mean." Atticus chuckled about his own experiences with Patch.

"So then Pupcake must have gotten distracted by something he thought that looked fun and decided to chase it..." Taffyta started.

"...And Custard went after him so then he wouldn't get lost." Strawberry finished with a smile.

"You're not worried, are you?" Mo asked.

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine," Strawberry replied. "Pets are curious creatures."

"That's true." Atticus smiled.

"Now, let's get going," Strawberry smiled. "I believe I've been invited to a Sweet Celebration with my favorite cousin."

"You have, and so have I." Taffyta giggled.

"I wonder where the youngest princess is?" Atticus said.

"The youngest princess?" Cherry replied.

"I think I might have an idea where she is." Vanellope said.

"What is this about a princess?" Cherry asked.

"The Princess of Candy Land?" Snowanna guessed.

"Yep." Vanellope nodded.

"You wanna lead the way then, Vanny?" Cherry asked.

"Try to keep up. 3, 2, 1..." Vanellope smirked as she dashed off, giving herself a head-start. "GO!"

"Hey!" The other racers complained before running after Vanellope.

"And they're off." Mo smirked playfully.

Vanellope laughed as she ran off from the others while everyone else just walked after them.

"Nice to meet you, I guess, Strawberry Shortcake." Cherry said to the new girl.

"I'm Atticus Fudo, the beautiful girl right next to me is my girlfriend, Mo Brown and the other girl is my best friend and sister figure, Cherry Butler and the puppy behind us is Patch Pongo, my pet." Atticus smiled before they saw that Patch wasn't behind them.

"Um... Nice to meet you, Patch." Strawberry said as she began to pet the air, thinking Patch was imaginary.

"Oh, great," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Spot got off his leash again."

"He must have went off on his own." Mo frowned.

"He must have followed the scent of gingerbread." Atticus added.

"Dogs..." Atticus and Mo sighed as they should've seen that coming.

"Seriously though? When are you gonna put that dog on a leash?" Cherry said to Atticus.

"I just feel like leashes are too controlling." Atticus said.

"Isn't it the law you have to keep Patch on a leash though?" Cherry asked.

"Dang it, you're right." Atticus groaned.

Cherry gave a cheesy grin.

"Let's just catch up with the others." Atticus muttered.

"I hope Patch is alright." Mo said.

"I'm sure he's fine, this doesn't look like a dangerous place," Atticus smiled. "I doubt any villains live around here."

"Um, well..." Strawberry smiled nervously.

"There are villains in a sugary utopia like this?" Cherry asked.

"Well... There is Lord Licorice..." Strawberry replied.

"How bad is he?" Mo asked.

"Compared to most villains, he might seem tame, but that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous, so you might wanna watch out just in case," Gloyd replied. "He's sneakier than I am when it's around Halloween time."

"Whoa." Mo said.


	3. Chapter 3

Vanellpe soon made it into the palace first, and the others came with her. They came across a golden statue and there was a redheaded girl who seemed to have wings.

"Stop, you villain!" The girl smirked as she held out a scepter which looked like a lollipop. "I, Princess Lolly, am the greatest acrobat in Candy Land!"

"Is that lollipop scepter important?" Mo asked Vanellope.

"Mm-hmm..." Vanellope nodded. "Not just to Princess Lolly, but all of Candy Land. If Lord Licorice had it, he could turn all of Candy Land into a dark and dreary place."

"Cool." Cherry replied.

"No, that's bad." Rancis said.

"Oh..." Cherry replied. "My bad."

"Who are you?" Princess Lolly asked.

"Princess Lolly, we mean you no harm," Vanellope said. "I am Princess Vanellope von Schweetz of Sugar Rush."

"Yeah, and we were invited to this celebration." Rancis said.

"Oh, I see," Princess Lolly smiled. "Well, welcome to my home. I am the princess of Candy Land... Well, one of them anyway... I'm the younger one. My sister Frostine is supposed to rule the kingdom after our father steps down from the throne. I'm not sure what that means for me though."

"That means you would be next in line for the throne after her." Mo said.

"I guess..." Princess Lolly pouted as she seemed not too excited since she was just the younger sister of Frostine.

"Lolly, are you being careful with your scepter?" An older voice asked as he was on his way inside.

"That must be your father." Mo said to Princess Lolly.

"It is." Princess Lolly nodded.

"Lolly, how many times have I told you to be careful with your scepter?" King Kandy reminded.

"86 times, Daddy." Princess Lolly smiled innocently.

"Whoa." Cherry said.

Princess Lolly then ran up to her father and kissed his cheek.

"Hello, there, and welcome," King Kandy smiled to the Sugar Rush racers. "You must be the people of Sugar Rush."

"We sure are," Vanellope said as she walked over. "I am President/Princess Vanellope."

"Ah, yes, it's nice to-" King Kandy said before looking to Vanellope as she looked somewhat familiar. "...Meet you, Princess."

"Uh, why is he looking at me like that?" Vanellope asked Mo.

Mo shrugged.

"I've heard of you..." King Kandy said to Vanellope. "Welcome to Candy Land."

"Um, thank you, King Kandy." Vanellope replied.

"And we're honored to have been invited to this celebration." Cherry said.

"I don't believe you're from Sugar Rush." King Kandy said to her, Atticus, and Mo.

"I'm Cherry, and this is Atticus and Mo," Cherry replied. "We come from far away, and we are honored guests of Vanellope."

"Yup!" Vanellope added.

"And your youngest daughter is running off with the lollipop." Mo said once she saw the king's youngest daughter running off to have some more fun.

"What?!" King Kandy gasped. "Lolly, stop right there!"

Princess Lolly suddenly stopped and looked over.

"Oh, Lolly, come here, please," King Kandy smiled, putting his arm around the girl. "I want to talk to you."

"That usually comes with something important." Mo said.

"It is..." King Kandy nodded. "Today, a brand new sweet flavor will bloom in Candy Land, right after the Sweet Circle Ceremony."

* * *

They soon saw workers working in another room around the Sweet Circle.

"And you, my daughter, you are going to have a very special job to do." King Kandy said as he took Princess Lolly's hand.

"Does it have something to do with the lollipop?" Mo asked him.

"No, it means I've decided Princess Lolly should stand in the Sweet Circle." King Kandy smiled.

" _Me_?" Princess Lolly piped up.

"Wow." The racers smiled.

"That sounds like a great honor." Strawberry added.

"You want me to-" Princess Lolly continued until she glanced at her father. "Dad, are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, delicious treats will be brought from every corner of Candy Land which goes in these gold cups," King Kandy smiled. "When every offering is in place when the last gumball has dropped, it-... Lolly, are you listening?"

"What? Oh, the last gumball, yes." Princess Lolly smiled.

"You see something sweet coming, don't you?" Mo asked Princess Lolly.

"Mm-hmm." Princess Lolly smiled bashfully.

They soon looked over as a worker came by with a cake that seemed to have a windmill on it.

"Of course." Mo smiled.

"And just at the right moment, a very magic thing will happen," King Kandy continued. "Lolly will set her scepter into the sweet center..."

Princess Lolly soon flew towards the cake.

"Oh, boy..." Mo sighed.

Crumbelina seemed to lick her lips with a smile once she saw the cake.

"Mm... Cake!" Candle Head beamed.

"Must have cake." Rancis smiled.

"Guys?!" Cherry warned.

Princess Lolly soon flew towards the cake and took a deep breath before blowing on the windmill on top of the cake which caused it to start spinning.

"Wow, it actually works." Cherry commented about the windmill.

Princess Lolly smiled as she flew back a little, but the baker seemed to trip over something, or rather, someone that fell on the floor with the cake in his arms.

"Cake! Incoming!" Mo called out.

Atticus soon rushed over to help and stop the cake, but he seemed to be too late, which was not common for him as the cake splashed onto the king.

"Daddy!" Princess Lolly cried out, but she couldn't help but giggle once she found him. "I just wanted to see if the windmills turned. They do!"

"I'm so sorry." King Kandy told his royal baker.

"We should have kept a closer eye on her." Mo said.

"Great... Babysitting a princess..." Cherry commented. "That sounds like a mission we'd be forced to accept."

"It might be an adventure." Mo said.

"Oh, boy... My favorite past time..." Cherry muttered.

Princess Lolly frowned as she felt bad about what just happened to her father.

"Sweetheart, I like fun as much as the next king, but today is a special day for Candy Land," King Kandy reminded her. "So, please, you only have to do two things: be here at the Sweet Circle in six gumballs." he then began to tell her until they heard something.

"What was that?" Mo asked.

They soon looked over and they all found what looked like a gumball machine that was working like a clock, and the gumball soon rolled down a slide, hitting a ball which tolled on the way down.

"Gumball machines are used like clocks in Candy Land." Vanellope told Atticus, Cherry, and Mo.

"Ohh." Mo smiled.

"Erm... Make that _five_ gumballs... And remember your scepter," King Kandy soon told Princess Lolly. "Now, I know you can do that, Lolly, can't you?"

Princess Lolly nodded to her father with a small pout.

"And just try to stay out of trouble until then." King Kandy then said.

"Yes, Daddy." Princess Lolly replied.

"And we'll make sure she does sir." Mo said.

"I entrust you all to become Princess Lolly's guardians for the day." King Kandy told Atticus, Cherry, and Mo.

"I guess." Cherry shrugged.

"We'll make sure nothing happens to her or to the lollipop scepter." Atticus told King Kandy.

"I really appreciate it." King Kandy replied.

* * *

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Gloyd asked about Princess Lolly.

Rancis and Swizzle looked to him.

"Well, you guys have Vanellope and Minty, why can't I have a girlfriend?" Gloyd replied.

"V-V-Vanellope's not my girlfriend." Rancis blushed.

"Not yet." Gloyd smirked.

"I-I-I..." Rancis stammered to that.

"Come on, man, you gotta tell her how ya feel." Swizzle encouraged.

"Yeah." Glyod said.

Rancis bit his lip a bit nervously.

"I hope Patch is okay wherever he ended up." Mo said to Atticus.

"Yeah, and Custard and Pupcake." Strawberry added about her own pets.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Meanwhile with Patch..._**

"Let's see... We follow the path through a small clearing." Jib told Patch as they traveled together.

"This path is making me hungry." Patch chuckled to his new friend.

"No surprise." Jib smiled.

"Mind if we stop for a minute?" Patch asked.

"Well... I guess it would be okay." Jib replied.

They soon stopped walking before Patch caught the two scents. Jib walked over to a plant and began to take out a wedge, eating it while Patch followed the scents that he tracked down, and where his nose was soon met with another nose. This made him yelp a bit in surprise before seeing another dog.

"Hi!" The other dog smiled, wagging his tail to Patch.

"Oh, hello," Patch smiled back. "I didn't know that Candy Land had dogs here too."

"Hmm... I was gonna say the same thing about you." The other dog replied.

"Oh... So you're not from here?" Patch asked.

"I actually live in a place called Berry Bitty City with my owner, Strawberry Shortcake, same with Custard here." The dog replied as a cat soon came out to also see Patch.

"Custard?" Patch asked. "That's a unique name."

"Thank you." The cat replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" Patch smiled. "My name is Patch."

"Well, you know, my name is Custard." The cat said.

"And my name is Pupcake." The dog added.

"He got his name after eating so many cupcakes." Custard smiled.

Pupcake smiled back, a bit bashfully from that.

"Berry Bitty City, huh?" Patch replied. "I don't think I've heard of that place."

"Really?" Custard asked.

"Still trying to get used to this place actually." Patch replied.

"Where'd you come from then?" Custard asked.

"I live in Greendale now." Patch informed.

"Never heard of it." Pupcake said.

"Well, I guess we have something in common," Patch shrugged. "I'm sorry you got lost from your owner though, I'm sure we can find them. What did you say their name was again?"

"Strawberry Shortcake." Pupcake and Custard told the Dalmatian.

"Sounds like a dessert." Patch said.

"You could say that." Custard giggled.

They soon heard a ringing of a bell.

"Patch, it's getting late, we better speed it up." Jib suggested.

"Oh, right. The celebration." Patch said.

"Celebration?" Custard and Pupcake smiled.

"Um, would you like to come with us?" Patch offered. "I'm sure we can find your owner on the way."

"Well... Sure!" Pupcake beamed.

"Okay!" Custard added.

"Alright then." Patch smiled.

And with that, the gingerbread boy, the two dogs, and the cat soon ran down the colorful path together.

* * *

It seemed to get colder as they came into a different area of Candy Land.

"Ooh, it's a little cold." Patch commented.

"Even with that fur? I thought that would keep you nice and warm." Jib replied.

"You're thinking of bears." Patch said.

"Oh..." Jib said as they came into the new landmark before checking the map. "It's getting chilly... I wonder where we are? Ah... This must be the Peppermint Forest."

"Mm." Patch smiled.

Pupcake came up to one peppermint stick and soon licked it, unable to resist.

"Oh, what's this?" Jib smiled once he found snowflakes.

"Snowflakes, try catching them on your tongue." Patch suggested before doing so himself.

Custard began to do just that.

"Aw, it melted, I better try another taste." Jib pouted.

"Don't worry, Jib, it'll be just fine." Patch smiled.

"Yeah." Pupcake added.

Jib smiled as he got used to the snow as it usually only snowed in the Peppermint Forest and nowhere else in Candy Land. A giant snowball was seen coming down a hill and it soon crashed into them by accident, and there was a man shown from the snow pile after they crashed together, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

"What was that snowball all about?" Custard asked.

"I think we're about to meet a new friend." Patch guessed.

"I think you're right." Pupcake smiled.

"Hello, there," Patch said to the man. "Who are you?"

"Mr. Mint!" The man smiled as he held out his hand. "Oh, but Mister's too formal, just call me 'Mint'!"

"Um, okay." Patch said.

Mint soon shook hands with Jib, being a bit stronger than the gingerbread boy expected. "And what are your names?" he then asked with a smile.

"Uh... Jib." The gingerbread boy replied.

"And I'm Patch," The Dalmatian added. "And this is Pupcake and Custard."

"Hi." Pupcake smiled.

"Hello." Custard added.

"Ah, Jib, Patch, Pupcake, and Custard? Whatya say I call you Jib, Patch, Pupcake, and Custard for short?" Mint smiled back to them. "Nice to know ya, guys! You must be heading to the Sweet Celebration, right?"

"How did you know?" Jib wondered.

"Where else would you be going on such a sweet, sunny day?" Mint smiled. "I'm going too! Hey, let's go together!" he then suggested.

"Alright." Patch smiled back.

"Uh... I don't know... I..." Jib stammered nervously.

"I'm bringing the best peppermint stick!" Mint smiled to them as he looked through the snow. "Hmm... It's around here somewhere."

"Did it fall out of your pocket?" Custard asked.

"Oh, it probably did," Mint replied. "I swear, I'd forget my own head if it wasn't attached."

"Mr. Mint, we don't have time!" Jib panicked.

"Oh, plenty of gumballs left, my boy!" Mint smiled to the gingerbread boy.

"Yes, but we have to keep going so then we aren't late." Patch said.

"Ooh, I hate being late." Custard replied.

"Me too." Pupcake added.

"Don't worry, we won't be late." Patch assured them.

"Aha! Here it is!" Mint smiled as he soon found the peppermint stick he was looking for that fell in the snow.

"Great now let's go." Patch said.

"Hmm... According to my calculations, if we travel at a brisk pace, without stopping to eat-" Jib began only for his map to be taken away from him. "Hey!"

"You gotta relax, Jib," Mint said as he took the map away from the gingerbread boy. "This is Candy Land, and Candy Land means fun!"

"Yes, but we have to follow the map to get to the celebration on time." Patch said as he took the map back.

"Yes, but in Candy Land, you oughta, you gotta, have fun!" Mint smiled to them all.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" Patch sighed.

"It doesn't seem like he is." Custard added.

Mint smiled to them as he shared the wonders of Candy Land with them. And where they did start having fun along the way. Mint smiled as he helped them through the Peppermint Forest in a fun way through song. They even began to meet a group of peppermint beavers who looked very friendly.

"Hey, there." Patch smiled.

"Hi!" The peppermint beavers smiled back.

"Man, just about everyone is nice in Candy Land." Patch smiled.

"Not everyone." Pupcake said.

"Oh?" Patch replied.

"You'd be surprised, it's not all sunshine and rainbows." Custard added.

"Guess so." Patch said.

"So, whatya say, guys?" Mint smiled.

"Maybe you're right," Jib smiled back. "As long as we stick to the road, we'll be fine!"

"Peppermintyriffic!" Mint beamed. "This'll be fun!"

"Yeah!" Pupcake cheered.

"We are gonna have fun~" They all sang together as they walked down the path. "We are gonna have fun~"

* * *

They soon walked out of the Peppermint Forest as Mint was telling them about a time when he got his head stuck in an ice cream bucket, and it was rather funny. They soon heard the ringing of the bell which meant that they were running out of more time.

"That's the next gumball! There are only four left!" Jib gasped before looking to Mint. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Well, of course!" Mint smiled to him as he walked off. "Why?"

"This path is kinda bouncy." Patch commented.

"Did we stray off the path?" Custard asked.

Jib soon took out the map just to make sure, and something bounced beside them.

"What is that?!" Custard yowled at the strange creature.

The creature bounced and it then seemed to morph into a cat like Custard before meowing.

"Oh, that's just Jolly, he's a gummy," Mint smiled. "Ooh, that must mean we're at Gumdrop Pass!"

"Are we supposed to be going down Gumdrop Pass?" Patch asked.

"Watch this!" Mint smiled as he soon jumped down over the path.

"Oh, no!" Jib panicked. "Mr. Mint!"

Mint was soon seen bouncing. "Nuh-uh! No Mister, just Mint, okay?" he then reminded the gingerbread boy as he bounced. "Jump on in! The gummy's fine!"

"That _does_ look like fun..." Patch had to admit.

"And I think Pupcake agrees." Custard said as she saw her dog brother joining in the bouncing.

"This is peppermintyriffic!" Mint laughed as he joined in on the bouncing himself.

"What're you doing down there?!" Jib called out.

"A front flip, whatya think?" Mint smiled as he bounced.

"But Mr. Mint, people are counting on us!" Jib reminded.

"1, 2, 3, 4!" Mint laughed as he counted while bouncing.

"Mint, take this seriously!" Custard told him.

"I don't have time for this, Mr. Mint," Jib sighed as he walked away. "Have fun!"

"Hey, wait up, guys!" Mint smiled as he soon bounced up with Jolly and Pupcake. "That really was fun, you guys, you should've jumped down with us. Exhilarating like mint!"

"But we don't have time to stop and have fun." Custard said.

"It wasn't on the road, and we have to stick to the road!" Jib added. "Otherwise, we'll be-"

"Be late, I know," Mint replied. "Don't worry, guys, we won't be late. Will we, boy?"

Jolly shook his head as he joined their adventure.

"He's coming with?" Patch asked.

"What, you don't like dinosaurs?" Mint replied. "Then how about a fellow dog?"

Jolly then shape-shifted himself into another dog like Patch and Pupcake.

"So he can shape-shift?" Patch asked.

"Yep, and he can become Gingerbread Man's best friend!" Mint smiled as he pet Jolly before opening his collar up. "See? Aw... Four gummy hearts!"

Jib just glanced over until Jolly gave sad puppy dog eyes so he could come along. "Fine, but we have to move fast, and we have to stick to the road!" he then said after giving in.

"Agreed." Pupcake nodded.

"You got it," Mint added as he picked up Jolly. "We did it, Jolly! Gimme paw!"

Jolly just licked his face like any other dog would.

"You two coming?" Jib asked.

"See? Jolly's ready to go, and I've got my perfect peppermint stick right here!" Mint smiled before taking out his stick, only for it to be split in half. "Oh... I'm out... I gotta get a new peppermint stick."

"Seriously?" Patch asked.

"Where are you going?" Jib asked their new friend. "The Candy Castle's the other way!"

"But the Peppermint Forest is this way!" Mint replied as he walked off the other way. "Ah, don't worry, guys, it'll only take me a gumball. Two at the most."

"This is taking longer than it should." Custard sighed.

"I shouldn't be using this, but we're so late already... Sorry, Mom." Jib frowned as he decided to use his icing to fix Mint's peppermint stick so that they could keep going to the Candy Castle.

"I'm sure your mom will understand once we explain." Patch said.

"Well... I'll only use a little bit." Jib suggested as he used the icing like glue and stuck the two pieces together.

"Wow... It's just like new!" Patch smiled.

"You can barely see where it broke." Custard added.

"That's what I was hoping for," Jib smiled to the animals before rushing out. "Mr. Mint! Look! All fixed!"

"Wow, you're smart!" Mint smiled back. "What is that stuff?"

"It's my mom's special gingerbread icing," Jib replied. "Now we better get moving."

"Mm-hmm!" Mint nodded in agreement.

"We don't have much time." Custard said.

"Well, come along then, let's get going." Mint smiled.

"Now you're talking!" Patch smiled back to that.

"And away we go." Pupcake smiled back.

And so, they went off to get to the Candy Castle together as a team.


	5. Chapter 5

Meanwhile, at the castle, Adorabeezle smiled once they came to what looked like an ice pond where someone was already skating.

"Whoa." Mo smiled.

"Who's the Elsa knock-off?" Cherry commented.

"That's my sister, Princess Frostine." Princess Lolly replied.

"She looks amazing." Vanellope said.

"Yeah, she does," Gloyd said with hearts in his eyes. He soon noticed the others smirking playfully at him. "Uh... What?"

"Nothing..." The others replied, but they kept their smirks.

"I see I have more than my usual audience." Princess Frostine smiled as she continued to skate until coming to an end.

"That was amazing." Gloyd smiled at her.

"Oh, thank you," Princess Frostine smiled back before looking to her younger sister. "Oh, my... Someone seems to have the blues today."

"King Kandy chose her to be in the center of celebration." Mo explained.

Princess Lolly pouted and tossed her scepter over her shoulder.

"I heard, he's so proud of you," Princess Frostine smiled to her little sister. "It sounds exciting!"

"But Frostine, that's a big job, a huge job!" Princess Lolly frowned. "Look at me. Would you pick me for the biggest job in Candy Land?"

"Daddy did." Princess Frostine insisted.

"That's one person." Cherry said.

"Oh, what was he thinking?" Princess Lolly groaned. "I'm the flighty one, remember? Why else would I have wings?"

"I was wondering why you had wings." Mo said to her.

"I was just born with them." Princess Lolly shrugged as she didn't know why she had wings before she walked off, not wanting a big responsibility.

"But without the scepter and without someone being in the center for the celebration, I doubt all of this will still be here." Mo said.

"King Kandy knows you can do it." Cherry added.

"And so do I!" Princess Frostine piped up happily for her little sister.

"Sure I can do it, but I don't want to do it," Princess Lolly replied. "It's so much more fun to just go to the party, and-"

"It's not always going to be fun and parties." Atticus told the young princess.

"He's right," Princess Frostine added. "Daddy's counting on you, Lolly."

Vanellope seemed to muffle as something came from the ground and took her along with the lollipop scepter without anyone noticing.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it." Princess Lolly huffed in defeat.

"That's what we hoped you'd say." Mo said.

"Good..." Princess Frostine said as she went to go back to skating. "Oh, hello," she smiled to the winter racer. "What's your name?"

"Adorabeezle Winterpop," Adorabeezle smiled. "We should skate together!"

"Well... Okay." Princess Frostine smiled back.

"Princess Lolly, where did you toss your scepter?" Mo asked.

"And where's Vanellope?" Strawberry wondered.

"It's around here somewhere..." Princess Lolly said before looking behind her. "Oh, there it is." she then walked over to go and get it.

However, creatures that were black and red soon popped out of the snowbank, grabbing the scepter, and they appeared to have also taken Vanellope as hostage.

"What are those things?" Mo asked.

"Licorice Bites!" Princess Lolly gasped.

The Licorice Bites soon snickered as they ran off with the scepter and Vanellope. Princess Lolly then attempted to fly after them to get her scepter back, and Rancis tried to look brave as he tried to get Vanellope back as well.

"I have a bad feeling about those Licorice Bites." Mo said.

"They're allied with Lord Licorice." Taffyta frowned.

They began to go after the Licorice Bites.

"You, stop!" Princess Lolly glared. "I order you to stop!"

The Licorice Bites seemed to just ignore her. Princess Lolly kept flying as the others chased after the Licorice Bites.

"Bring back Vanellope!" Candle Head glared.

Adorabeezle kept ice-skating, but soon looked over as she felt she had to help out the others since they were all friends.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile with Patch and the others..._**

"Guys, where you going?" Mint asked as Jib and Patch seemed to pass some sort of red and black forest.

"We're following the sign," Jib told him. "This way to the castle."

"But this way is shorter." Mint smiled.

"Yeah, I can see the castle from this path." Pupcake added.

"What are you talking about?" Jib asked them.

"See? Right there!" Pupcake pointed out. "Just past Licorice Wicket!"

"You're right, there it is!" Jib replied before groaning. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, the faster we get there the better; besides with this shortcut, we'll get there in no time." Custard said.

They soon heard the ringing of the bell which meant they were running out of time.

"Oh, no! Three gumballs already, there are only two left!" Jib panicked. "All that goofing around made us late!"

"All the more reason to take a shortcut." Mint smiled to them.

"He _does_ make a good point." Patch said.

"Well... I don't know..." Jib said, sounding a little scared.

"It's the dark, isn't it?" Mint asked him.

"I'm not afraid of the dark!" Jib glared.

"Good, 'cuz it's dark when you close your eyes, and that's not scary!" Mint smiled as he closed his own eyes.

"He does make another good point." Pupcake smiled.

"Hmm..." Jib paused, still feeling unsure about all of this.

"Hey, you wanna get to the Candy Castle on time, right?" Mint asked the gingerbread boy.

"More than anything!" Jib replied.

"Then a shortcut's the way to go!" Mint told him before going on ahead with Pupcake and Jolly. "Time's ticking!"

"We might as well take the shortcut." Patch said.

Jolly turned into a clock before following after into the Licorice Wicket. Jib sighed as he felt like he had no choice and soon followed after the others. As they went down the path, it started to get darker.

"Ooh, this is a little creepy." Patch commented.

* * *

Back with the others, they followed Princess Lolly as they lost track of the Licorice Bites.

"What am I gonna do?" Princess Lolly frowned. "Daddy's counting on me!"

"Maybe there's someone that can help us." Atticus said.

"Do you know anyone who lives around this way, Lolly?" Mo asked the young princess.

"Granma's house! Yeah! She'll know what to do!" Princess Lolly smiled once she found a place down the road.

"Then we better see if she's home." Atticus said.

Cherry sniffed the air. "Ugh... I smell peanut butter." she then complained as she didn't like peanut butter.


	6. Chapter 6

**_In the Licorice Wicket..._**

"It's really kinda nice here," Mint smiled nervously. "In a dark, spooky, wish I was home in bed sorta way. You know, I wish this shortcut was a strawberry shortcut."

"Same here." Pupcake added.

"When do you think we'll get out of here?" Jib whispered.

"Oh, anytime now," Mint replied before stopping as he saw someone working with what looked like a cauldron. "Look!"

"Who's that?" Patch asked as he was about to walk up to the person.

"Shh! That's Lord Licorice..." Mint whispered to him, holding him back the best that he could. "I wonder what he's up to?"

"Uh-oh." Jolly frowned once he saw and heard someone coming this way.

"Quick, hide." Custard told them as she hid.

They soon rushed to hide as the Licorice Bites rushed over with Princess Lolly's scepter and also had kidnapped a certain young tomboy princess.

"Vanellope!" Patch gasped.

"Yes, mine!" Lord Licorice beamed as he took the scepter. "At last, now it's time for my plan to begin, and also with the princess of Sugar Rush, as my hostage, who-" he then glared towards Vanellope before looking to her like he was seeing an old familiar face for the first time in years.

"What?" Vanellope asked.

" _You_?" Lord Licorice asked. " _You're_ the princess of Sugar Rush Speedway?"

"Yeah?" Vanellope replied.

"Interesting... Very interesting..." Lord Licorice replied.

"Am I missin' somethin'?" Vanellope asked.

"Oh... It's just... You look like my sister." Lord Licorice said to her.

"Your sister?" Vanellope asked.

"Yes..." Lord Licorice replied. "I haven't seen her in many years..."

"Um... What was she like?" Vanellope wondered.

"She was always the more adventurous and outgoing one between us," Lord Licorice replied. "She often wandered throughout Candy Land, and not just in our home in the Licorice Wicket. She found herself interested in the king's younger brother. They had a forbidden friendship, which later led to a relationship... I never saw her again after that."

"That's interesting." Vanellope said.

"That was a very long time ago..." Lord Licorice said. "No matter... With you as my hostage, Candy Land will have to give into me, especially with Princess Lolly's scepter in my hand!"

"But why are you even doing this?!" Vanellope glared at him.

"I deserve to rule over Candy Land!" Lord Licorice told her. "It would be a much better place if I was in charge instead of that nitwit, King Kandy, or his daughters, Lolly and Frostine! And with you as my leverage, they'll have no choice but to surrender!" he then put the scepter inside of his cauldron before splatting some black goo against the wall near her. "Here! Have some licorice vines!" And where out came some licorice-like vines.

"You won't get away with this!" Vanellope glared. "Why can't you just respect the way the king and his daughters rule?!"

"Oh, but my dear, it's more fun this way for everyone, don't you think?" Lord Licorice smirked.

"If my parents were here, I bet they'd totally teach you a thing or two!" Vanellope glared.

"Interesting... You don't know where your parents are?" Lord Licorice asked.

"...No... I don't, actually..." Vanellope said softly. "All I know is that they disappeared..."

"Hmm... Interesting..." Lord Licorice replied. "It would be interesting if I had my own heiress to my new throne."

Vanellope simply backed away from him slightly.

"Join me, child..." Lord Licorice said as he grabbed her arm.

"Get off of me!" Vanellope cried out.

Vanellpe soon yelped as some licorice vines tied her up high in the air while Lord Licorice and his Bites celebrated. "I bet if your sister was here, she would be shocked to know that you're doing this during the celebration!" she then glared at Lord Licorice.

"Oh, what do you know?" Lord Licorice glared back at Vanellope.

"I know that your sister wouldn't want you to do this; she would want you to stop before it's too late." Vanellope told him.

No," Lord Licorice told her. "You're just a child."

"I am more than that!" Vanellope glared. "Look, pal, I know what it's like to be pushed to the side! Before everyone found out I was their long-lost princess, they used to bully me just because I was a glitch, and King Candy in Sugar Rush was just a jealous game character who tried to destroy my code!"

"Oh, boo-hoo." Lord Licorice huffed.

"Why are you being so mean?!" Vanellope shouted.

That one question soon echoed through his mind as a different voice was heard asking the same question. Lord Licorice looked at her as he seemed to be reminded of something like upon their first meeting with each other which wasn't that long ago, even though he felt like he had seen her somewhere before, though this was their first time seeing each other.

* * *

A flashback was soon shown of a younger Lord Licorice and a young girl.

"Pretty soon, this will no longer be Candy Land, it shall be known as... Licorice Land!" Lord Licorice told the girl who was with him.

"No, this land is perfect just the way it is." The girl told him.

"We're born into the Licorice family, not the Candy family," Lord Licorice told his younger sister. "Lyra, don't you see? We have to overthrow the King and Queen to get what we deserve. Don't you want your own land instead of living in the bright and colorful world we live in when it can be dark and bitter just like we are?"

"But that's so mean, _why_ are you being so mean?!" Lyra shouted.

"I'm not mean, I just want us both to be happy." Lord Licorice told her.

"Richard, I don't know what happened to you, but you've changed..." Lyra told her older brother.

"I'm not mean, I just want us both to be happy." Lord Licorice told her.

"Richard, I don't know what happened to you, but you've changed, and I don't like it..." Lyra told her older brother.

"Maybe you've changed..." Lord Licorice told his younger sister. "You've been sneaking out of the wicket a lot lately."

"Because I've wanted to see more than just the wicket." Lyra told him.

"What's wrong with the wicket?" Lord Licorice asked.

"Because being in the same place all the time is boring!" Lyra replied. "I just wanted to explore, and Candy Land is a very beautiful place!"

"It's too colorful." Lord Licorice replied.

"Well... Yes... It's colorful, but... It's nice..." Lyra said. "Um... Can I get you anything from up town?"

"Why?" Lord Licorice asked suspiciously.

"Well, you've asked me to go into town for you for a while..." Lyra smiled nervously. "I thought I'd pick up some food."

"You seem a bit nervous all of a sudden." Lord Licorice said.

"No, no," Lyra replied. "Listen, I need some air, I'll see you later."

Lord Licorice glanced over to his sister as she soon left their home before he made some Licorice Bites follow her since he grew suspicious of her behavior change. Lyra began to go through Candy Land as she was going to be meeting up with someone. Little did she know, some Licorice Bites were following her to see what she was up to. The someone soon wore a hood with a cloak so that no one would recognize him as he came out to see Lyra.

* * *

And where the two of them soon met up in a candy cane forest. They soon came up to each other. The cloaked figure smiled to Lyra and lowered his hood to show his face to her, and he seemed to have curly black hair.

"Oh, my prince has come." Lyra smiled back.

"I would never miss a chance to seeing you, my princess." The prince smiled back.

Lyra giggled to that, blushing a bit. "Oh, Vanilliam~"

"I just hate that we have to meet in secretly." Vanilliam said.

"I know..." Lyra sighed. "None of our families would approve... I live in the Licorice Wicket, and you're the younger brother of King Kandy... Sometimes I wish we could just run away somewhere together... Somewhere no one would think to find us, and we can have the family we've always wanted..."

"I have heard of a place far from here." Vanilliam said.

"Is that right?" Lyra asked him.

"Yeah, and it has some kind of road." Vanilliam said.

"What is this place?" Lyra wondered.

"They call it... Sugar Rush..." Vanilliam told his beloved. "We should run away there together. Just you and me, and any children we may have."

"That sounds like a fairy tale." Lyra smiled.

"I was hoping you would say that." Vanilliam smiled back, bashfully.

"So then when we're older, we'll start a family and we'll live in Sugar Rush." Lyra smiled back.

Vanilliam smiled as he hoped she would like that. They then shared a hug before kissing each other happily, not knowing that they were being spied on. The Licorice Bites looked to each other as they saw King Kandy's younger brother with Lord Licorice's younger sister as they had more than just a forbidden friendship. They had a forbidden romance. And where the Licorice Bites knew they would have to tell Lord Licorice.

* * *

The two soon went to a hill together to share a picnic as they looked all over Candy Land.

"It's so lovely here." Lyra smiled.

"It is a nice place... Even if the others would frown upon seeing us together." Vanilliam agreed.

"It's just unfair," Lyra frowned. "If only they would just get along like how we do."

"I know..." Vanilliam agreed. "It's tough sometimes... This is such a great place too..."

They soon heard humming and looked nervous at first, but then smiled as they saw it was the one person who knew their secret: Granma Nutt.

"I thought I heard you kids out here." Granma Nutt giggled to the young prince and lady.

"Oh, it's just you, Granma." Lyra smiled.

"You two feeling all right?" Granma Nutt asked them.

"...Well... We were just thinking about things..." Vanilliam said to the kind old woman.

"Yeah." Lyra nodded.

"Would you like to come over?" Granma Nutt offered to them. "Nothing cheers me up more than having visitors in Peanut Acres."

Lyra and Vanilliam smiled to that before going with her to her home. Along the way, their feet got slightly stuck.

"Ooh, sorry about that, you can't help it though." Granma Nutt giggled to them on the way to her home.

"Yeah, guess not." Vanilliam smiled.

Granma Nutt smiled to them as she brought them into her home to relax for a bit, she also saw them together one evening, and decided to keep their secret safe from everyone else in Candy Land which made them very happy that she would and did. It seemed almost perfect for them to be together, even if no one else would really understand.

* * *

Soon enough, it was time for them to go back to their homes.

"I'll see you again soon." Vanilliam smiled.

"I will see you too, good night." Lyra smiled back.

"Good night." Vanilliam nodded to her.

The two shared a kiss with each other and soon walked off back to their respective homes. Lyra began to make her way through the Licorice Wicket. Lord Licorice was waiting back home for her as she had a dreamy smile on her face after seeing Prince Vanilliam yet again.

"You seemed to have had a good time." Lord Licorice told his sister.

"Oh, uh, yes," Lyra replied. "A good walk always clears my head, dear brother."

"Oh, and I'm sure meeting up with your _boyfriend_ was also a great thing." Lord Licorice smirked.

"Huh?!" Lyra gasped.

The Licorice Bites soon came out with evil grins to Lyra as they exposed her secret.

"Why, you little snitches!" Lyra glared.

The Licorice Bites snickered.

"Okay, yes! I was with the king's younger brother!" Lyra told her brother. "He makes me happy!"

"Aren't you happy here?" Lord Licorice asked, referring to the wicket.

"I don't wanna be here all day everyday," Lyra told him. "I want to explore... I want to make friends... I want more than this provincial life."

"I will never understand you." Lord Licorice sighed.

"You never did..." Lyra said. "That's why I'm glad I met Vanilliam... He's the greatest guy I have ever met... I might even... Love him."

And where Lord Licorice was shocked to hear that. "You LOVE him?!"

"I... I do... I love him..." Lyra said. "You won't stop me, Richard! I love Vanilliam, and we're going to have our own happily ever after far away from Licorice Wicket!"

The flashback soon ended from there.

* * *

"And that was the last time I saw her..." Lord Licorice sighed about his long-lost sister. "I suspect she left while I was sleeping, and ran off with Prince Vanilliam before he became the king of their new land and she became his queen."

"You're not gonna start singing now are you?" Vanellope asked.

"You're a little sassy mouth, aren't you?" Lord Licorice replied.

"I'm known for my sass," Vanellope smirked to that. She soon heard music being played, telling her there was going to be a song. "Of course..." she then sighed to herself, resting one of her hands against her cheek.

"There's a place in Candy Land, for everyone but me~," Lord Licorice began to sing to her. "For licorice is all but banned, When loved is what it should be~"

"I should have known this was gonna come up." Vanellope sighed to herself.

"This place is run by every sweets. I find it awfully strange,~" Lord Licorice continued to sing. "But don't you pout. You'll soon see it's all about to change.~"

The Licorice Bites cheered to this as that sounded like great news to them.

"Quiet!" Lord Licorice shouted at them.

The Licorice Bites soon obeyed as they stayed silent.

"As all who know me might suppose, I've hatched a tasty plot;~" Lord Licorice sang. "A Licorice that grows and grows, until there more then a lot~"

"You're nuts!" Vanellope glared.

"Correction, I'm licorice," Lord Licorice smirked before he went back to his song. "I'll place it in the Circle Sweet, and watch it quickly rise, And soon my chewy, sticky goo will reach into the sky~"

"Seriously, you're still singing?!" Vanellope complained before groaning.

"Licorice here, Licorice there,~" Lord Licorice continued singing as the Licorice Bites joined in. "As far as you can see..~"

 _'I'm gonna be stuck here until they're done with the song.'_ Vanellope thought to herself.

"Yep!" Lord Licorice told her as he continued.

"Sour Bill sings better than you do!" Vanellope continued to rant.

"The smell of licorice in the air~" Lord Licorice sang.

"Yummy, yummy, yummy!" The Licorice Bites chorused.

"Slickery licorice everywhere! Soon they'll understand,~" Lord Licorice sang. "Life will be so great, so grand, here in Licorice Land~"

The Licorice Bites then began to chant out of excitement.

"SILENCE!" Lord Licorice told them. "Chocolate pops and strawberry shakes will be against the law, Only licorice birthday cakes! Ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-ha!"

"Make it stop." Vanellope groaned as she tugged on her hair ribbon which she now realized resembled a red licorice rope.

"Never!" Lord Licorice told her before continuing to sing. "Licorice treats will fill the streets, A glorious display. The world will seem a licorice dream~"

"And we will sing HOORAY~" The Licorice Bites sang.

"Licorice there, Licorice here, Far as you can see~" Lord Licorice continued. "The smell of licorice in the air~"

"Yummy, yummy, yummy!" The Licorice Bites chorused.

"Slickery licorice everywhere!, Soon they'll understand~" Lord Licorice beamed as he invaded Candy Land. "Life will be so great, so grand, Here in Licorice Land~"

A slideshow was soon shown of what was going to happen after his plan would succeed. Vanellope looked annoyed, but soon looked over as she had no other choice.

"I will rule from a castle with a pool," Lord Licorice told her and his Bites. "I'll look great on my own licorice estate, Have a throne of my own, A licorice crown upon my head, I'll even wear it to bed!"

 _'Thankfully, this song is almost over,'_ Vanellope thought to herself. _'Or at least I hope it is.'_

"Licorice here, Licorice there, Far as you can see~" Lord Licorice continued to sing as he felt so excited about his future victory. "The smell of licorice in the air!~"

"Yucky, yucky, yucky!" Vanellope smirked which got her a glare from the villain.

"Yummy, yummy, yummy!~" The Licorice Bites sang.

"Slickery licorice everywhere!" Lord Licorice continued his song. "Soon, they'll understand, Things have been so blah~"

"So bland!" A Licorice Bite piped up.

"Life will be utterly grand, Here in Licorice Land~" Lord Licorice grinned darkly.

"You'll never get away with this!" Vanellope glared.

"You may be the princess of Sugar Rush, but I hate to break this to you," Lord Licorice glared back. "You can't tell me what to do, and Candy Land will bow down to me, and you shall become my heiress unless you want your own kingdom to also be taken over by licorice!"

"You are heartless!" Vanellope glared before eating her way free from the vines.

"What are you doing?!" Lord Licorice glared.

"Ugh... This stuff stinks, but I gotta get out of here." Vanellope groaned before she continued.

"That's right, Vanellope, eat your way out." Patch whispered.

Vanellope seemed to hate the taste of licorice, but she managed to eat her way out of the trap she was in.

* * *

"He's going to take over Candy Land!" Jib panicked over Lord Licorice.

"This is horrible! A disaster!" Mint added. "What do we do? What do we do?!"

"What do you think? We have to warn the king." Custard told him.

"But how do we get out of here?" Mint asked. "It's really dark!"

A Licorice Bite soon came out and noticed them before putting on a helmet wit a siren on it, and where it went off, informing the others that the Licorice Bite found some intruders.

"Wuh-oh." Patch muttered.

"Let's make like bananas and split!" Mint told the others.

"Don't gotta tell me twice!" Pupcake replied.

They soon rushed off out of the wicket.

"Spies!" Lord Licorice glared. "Get those snooping sweets! Get them!"

The Licorice Bites then ran after the group who ran away to capture them. Lord Licorice almost fell in his cauldron from that, but then yelped as the flames touched him before he sat in his mop bucket to cool himself off.

"Wow." Vanellope smirked before running out.

"You get back here!" Lord Licorice glared.

"Adios, Major Body Odor!" Vanellope saluted before running off.

"That little sneak." Lord Licorice glared.

"You okay, Vanellope?" Patch asked the princess of Sugar Rush.

"I'm fine, but that licorice stuff really reeks!" Vanellope replied. "Especially the black stuff! It tastes like misery!"

"That's what Cherry says." Patch agreed with her on that.

"So what do we do about the Licorice Bites that are chasing us?" Pupcake asked.

Jolly soon turned into a bird and began to fly.

"Well, good for you, but what about us?!" Vanellope glared.

"Faster! They're gaining on us!" Mint told the others. "Do something!"

"Jib, quick, do what you did before!" Patch told the gingerbread boy.

"You mean with my icing?!" Jib asked him.

"It's the only way to stop them." Patch told him.

"Um, all right, I'll try it!" Jib replied as he took out his icing and soon squirted it on the ground.

The Licorice Bites kept chasing after them until they soon got stuck in the icing.

* * *

"I knew that would work!" Patch smiled until he soon saw how much left of Jib's icing there was now.

"Jib, you saved us!" Mint smiled. "Run, run, run as fast as you can from Jib, he's the Gingerbread Man!"

Jolly also smiled as he morphed back to normal.

"Oh, dear! This is horrible!" Jib frowned as he looked to his icing. "If we don't tell the King, the sweet trees will become licorice trees, the Peppermint Forest will become Licorice Forest, and Gumdrop Pass will become, well, you get the picture!"

"Licorice Forest?" Mint frowned about that.

"And not to mention you're almost out of icing." Pupcake frowned at Jib.

"Soon, I won't have any left for the ceremony." Jib frowned back before putting the tube in his backpack.

"Jib, Jib, Jib, Jib, you worry too much," Mint replied. "Everything will work out!"

"We better hurry to the castle." Vanellope said.

They soon went back on the road.

"We're going to need help." Jib said.

"Maybe we should get a grown-up?" Mint suggested.

"Uh, aren't _you_ a grown-up?" Custard asked him.

"Oh... Yeah, I am!" Mint chuckled. "I meant a _grown-up_ grown-up."

Vanellope rolled her eyes to that as she followed them down the path.


	7. Chapter 7

Meanwhile, Princess Lolly soon flew the others to Granma Nutt's home.

"I hope she's home." Rancis said.

"You and me both." Princess Lolly agreed with him.

They soon came into the window which was open, and they found the older woman playing a game of Checkers.

"Granma! Granma!" Princess Lolly cried out as she flew in before accidentally falling onto her kitchen table on top of the board game.

The others soon got inside through the window.

"You okay, Lolly?" Gloyd asked.

"It happens." Princess Lolly sighed about her little fall.

"How often?" Mo asked.

" _Too_ often." Princess Lolly pouted.

The dog panted and smiled to Princess Lolly as he seemed to be a basket of peanuts.

"Oh, goodness, Lolly! What's wrong, dear?" Granma Nutt frowned as she saw a sad look on the young princess's face.

"I... I... I lost my scepter!" Princess Lolly cried out.

"Yeah, some Licorice Bites stole it and kidnapped Vanellope." Atticus said.

"Well, you've all come to the right place." Granma Nutt smiled as she gave a hanky to Princess Lolly to calm her down a bit.

"Um, thanks, ma'am." Cherry gave a small smile as she liked the kindness in this woman.

"I just don't understand why they stole the scepter and kidnapped Vanellope." Strawberry said.

"Why, I believe you're Strawberry Shortcake." Granma Nutt smiled.

"I am, ma'am." Strawberry smiled back.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile with Patch and the others..._**

"Is this it?" Patch asked once they came to a stop.

"I'm not sure, but I'll run over to that house and ask for directions," Mint replied before running across the peanut brittle road, breaking it slightly. "Oops."

"What is that on his shoe?" Pupcake asked.

Patch sniffed the substance before licking it. "Tastes like... Peanut butter..." he then said.

They soon heard someone coming down by the slide close to the house.

* * *

"Ooh! Visitors! Come on!" Granma Nutt smiled to Princess Lolly.

The others looked over and they were soon given some company, but some was familiar.

"I sure hope Vanellope is okay," Rancis frowned. "I never got to tell her that I... That I love-"

"Hey." Vanellope smirked.

"Vanellope!" Rancis gasped.

"What were you about you say? Something about love?" Vanellope asked.

"I love... I... I... I love... Peanut brittle." Rancis said.

"Mm-hmm..." Vanellope replied.

"Smooth." Gloyd smirked playfully to Rancis.

Rancis looked a bit bashful as he kind of chickened out.

"Man, this house looks like something out of Chuck E. Cheese," Patch said before looking over. "Atticus!"

"Hey, boy!" Atticus smiled, holding out his arms for his dog.

Patch soon rushed up to his owner. Atticus smiled before getting tackled and laughed as he hugged Patch once they were reunited. Pupcake and Custard began to rush right up to Strawberry Shortcake.

"Oh, you guys!" Strawberry beamed to her pets.

They soon ran up to her, hugging and licking her.

"Oh, I was so worried about you two." Strawberry smiled to her pets.

"I'm so sorry, I got distracted." Pupcake frowned.

"Oh, it's okay, I was just worried about you," Strawberry replied. "I was hoping you two were safe."

"Sorry, Strawberry." Custard and Pupcake told her pets.

Mo smiled as it was nice to see the pets ruined with their owner at last.

"Oh, before we forget, Lord Licorice has the lollipop scepter." Patch told them.

Princess Lolly gasped and cried to that as she felt miserable about her scepter being taken.

"And he plans on using it in The Sweet Celebration." Pupcake said.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name's Granma Nutt, and this is Baz!" Granma Nutt smiled to her company.

"It's nice to meet you both." Patch smiled back.

"Aren't you just darling?" Granma Nutt smiled.

"I seem to be... Stuck!" Mint grunted. "What is this goo?"

"That's 100% pure peanut butter under there," Granma Nutt giggled. "Right, Lolly?"

"I thought it tasted familiar." Patch smiled to the woman.

"So, who are you three?" Atticus asked Mint Jib and Jolly.

"I'm Mr. Mint, and this is Jib, and Jolly." Mint replied.

"Ugh... I feel a little sick..." Vanellope groaned as her belly seemed big after eating so much licorice to free herself.

"Well, no wonder with how much licorice you had to eat." Patch said.

"Poor thing... Come inside, I'll help make you feel better." Granma Nutt coaxed to Vanellope, looking to her the same way King Kandy and Lord Licorice did before.

"Let me guess, I look familiar, right?" Vanellope guessed.

"Yes, you really do, you look like someone I once knew... Let's get you down on the couch." Granma Nutt said.

"Heh... Story of my life today, lady." Vanellope replied.

"After we take care of your tummy ache; we'll have to warn the king." Patch said.

"Thanks..." Vanellope replied as she held her stomach. "Ugh... Licorice..."

"Dang licorice vines." Patch said.

"We can't let Lord Licorice take the scepter with the Sweet Circle, otherwise all of Candy Land will turn to licorice!" Granma Nutt panicked.

" _I'm_ the one who's supposed to be in the circle!" Princess Lolly pouted. "That's _my_ job!"

"Yeah, I don't think Lord Licorice cares." Cherry said.

"I was supposed to be responsible, but I wasn't!" Princess Lolly cried. "And now Candy Land will be ruined, and I don't know what to do!"

"We'll figure that part out later." Mo said.

"But there oughta, gotta be something we can do!" Mint frowned.

Jolly began to cry himself.

"Now maybe you'll think I'm nuts for thinking this, but I don't care," Granma Nutt smiled to them. "'Cuz everything here is nuts already!"

"Your point?" Cherry replied.

"The point is, you're not stuck if you don't give up!" Granma Nutt smiled.

"This may sound crazy, but she's right." Mo said.

"When a sticky problem tries and tries to drive you nuts, Sometimes you get sad and blue, no ifs or ands or buts~" Granma Nutt soon began to sing which made Vanellope give a small smile as she seemed to like this woman. "Sure, you've got a problem, but good gracious! Deary me! Nothing is as bad as you imagine it to be~"

 _'What is with these people and singing?'_ Vanellope thought to herself.

Cherry sat beside Vanellope as she seemed to tune out the song with her own headphones. Vanellope began to do the same thing. Eventually, the song ended and everyone soon felt motivated after Granma Nutt helped them.

"She's right! We can do this!" Jib smiled. "All we have to do is come up with a way to lure Lord Licorice to get the scepter back!"

"Yeah." Pupcake smiled.

"We can do it! We can do it!" Mint beamed only to get stuck in yet even more peanut butter. "Oops."

"Again? Really?" Cherry asked, unimpressed.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Jib smiled. "Listen to this!"

"Okay." Princess Lolly smiled back.

"I guess we oughta help Ronald McDonald here." Cherry said.

"My name's Mint." Mint smiled to her like she forgot his name.

"Oi." Cherry groaned.

They soon huddled together and Jib told them his plan. Strawberry smiled hopefully as this sounded good so far as she hugged Custard and Pupcake, and where they were happy to be back with their owner. Atticus and Mo smiled as it was nice to see Strawberry Shortcake reunited with her pets. Granma Nutt soon gave Vanellope a special cupcake, and when the young princess ate it, she looked like she felt a lot better from her tummy ache blues.

"Whoa!" Vanellope smiled.

"It's an old family recipe, it works every time." Granma Nutt smiled back to her.

"Gee, thanks, Granny!" Vanellope replied. "Maybe I should give some to Ralph."

"Is that a friend of yours?" Granma Nutt asked.

"Yeah, one of my best friends," Vanellope said. "He's from the video game Fix-it-Felix Jr, and he's the bad guy, Wreck-it-Ralph. He's like a big brother to me though."

"Well, that's interesting." Granma Nutt said.

"Tell me about it." Vanellope replied.

"It's sure been a while since we last saw Ralph." Atticus told Cherry.

"Yeah, it has," Cherry had to admit. "I wonder how he's doing?"

"You guys gotta come over again soon," Vanellope begged. "Pleeeeease?!"

"Oh, alright." Atticus smiled.

"Yes!" Vanellope beamed. "You guys are the best big brother and sister figures ever!"

"Aw, I wouldn't say that." Cherry said bashfully.

"Well, I would." Vanellope smiled.

"Wow, thanks, Vanny." Cherry smiled back, feeling touched.

* * *

Soon enough, they were told about the plan. Lord Licorice was soon on his way with his Licorice Bites carrying his throne into Candy Land, not knowing about the plan.

"Faster, my chewy chums!" Lord Licorice demanded. "That Gingerbread Brat and other freaks couldn't have gotten that far on foot!"

The Licorice Bites kept carrying him until they came up to a sign.

"Ooh... I don't remember this part of the castle," Lord Licorice commented. "Must be a shortcut. Onward, my Licorice Lumpkins!"

The Licorice Bites began to groan as they carried the throne while they went down the shortcut. The others soon came out and the sign was revealed to be Jolly all along.

"Nice job, Jolly!" Mint smiled.

"Yeah, you did great." Patch added.

"Yeah, good work! Now go do your second trick," Jib added. "Come on, everyone, let's go!"

They then walked off down the path to go to Lord Licorice and his Bites.

"This is gonna be so much fun." Vanellope smiled.

"Oh, come on, you lazy bites!" Lord Licorice complained.

The Licorice Bites soon collapsed from exhaustion, dropping his throne on the way.

"What in the world are we doing up here?" Lord Licorice glared as he came off of his throne to the edge of the cliff. "And what's with all the slides?"

Gloyd soon took out a paper bag and blew into it before making it big enough and soon popped it with his hand, startling Lord Licorice off of the cliff and going down the slide in front of him. "Enjoy the ride." The prankster Sugar Rush racer soon smirked.

Lord Licorice yelped as he was taken for a ride against his will. The others watched him as he got hit by some pans inside of the house and soon landed hard in the ground, getting smothered in peanut butter.

 _'Yes, the plan worked.'_ Mo thought to herself.

"Hey! Get me out of here! What's the big idea? I'm stuck!" Lord Licorice complained about his literal sticky situation.

"Thank you." Atticus smirked as he snatched the lollipop scepter from Lord Licorice.

"Ya big Licorice Stick-in-the-Mud!" Patch added. "I oughta tear your gizzard out!"

"Good thing your mother wasn't here to hear you say that." Atticus said as he returned the scepter to Princess Lolly.

"Heh... No kidding." Patch smiled bashfully as he remembered his mother scolding him for saying that.

"Ah! My scepter!" Princess Lolly smiled as she hugged her scepter once Atticus gave it to her.

"Wait, what about the Licorice Bites?" Mo asked.

The Licorice Bites soon decided to go down the slide after their master.

"Idiots." Cherry muttered.

"I suggest we make a run for the castle." Atticus suggested.

"This way." Cherry replied.

* * *

They soon rushed off as soon as they could only to stop. However, some of the Licorice Bites got loose, much to their annoyance and dismay.

"We have to stop them!" Princess Lolly frowned.

"Too bad we don't have our karts." Minty said about her and the other Sugar Rush racers.

"Duh!" Atticus said as he hit his forehead before making the Sugar Rush racers' race karts appear with his crystal powers.

They soon looked around.

"Not to worry, sweeties! This is what I call a cracker of a good time!" Granma Nutt laughed as she rode off in her own car.

"Let's go!" Jib told the others. "If we hurry, we can still make it on time!"

"Come with me, Strawberry Shortcake, to the Pink Lightning!" Taffyta told her cousin, taking her over to her kart.

"Alright, cous." Strawberry Shortcake smiled.

The Sugar Rush racers then got in their respective karts like they were back home on the speedway.

"Um... Vanellope? In case something happens, I wanna tell you something..." Rancis said nervously as he got into his kart known as the Kit-Kart.

"It's okay, Rancis, we're gonna make it, so wait until The Sweet Celebration." Vanellope told him.

"But, Vanellope-" Rancis frowned.

"Come on, we gotta get moving!" Cherry told the racers. "There isn't much time left!"

"That's right." Atticus nodded.

Rancis sighed as he seemed to fail to tell Vanellope how he really felt about her, and they soon got ready by starting their engines and they soon drove after Granma Nutt.

"Come on, gang, we're almost there!" Mint smiled.

They soon heard the bell go off as they were dangerously close to being out of time.

"Oh, no! There's only one gumball left! We gotta hurry!" Princess Lolly panicked.

"Mint, do you know a shortcut?!" Patch asked.

"Sure! This way!" Mint smiled as he took them down a new path.

"Good grief! Not _another_ shortcut!" Jib cried out.

"With the karts, we'll get there in no time with this shortcut." Atticus smiled.

"Groovy!" Snowanna smiled back to him.

Crumbelina nodded as she was silent as always, but had a small smile, but as they went down the shortcut they saw a bridge broke.

"Whoa, boy!" Vanellope cried out before hitting the brakes on her kart.


	8. Chapter 8

They soon stopped and looked around as they saw what looked like a chocolate based location.

"Here it is, The Chocolate Swamp!" Mint told them.

"And there's the chocolate bridge or of what's left of it." Rancis said.

"Your shortcut is cut short!" Jib told Mint.

"Oh, terrific!" Princess Lolly groaned. "Now how do we get across?"

"Uh, Princess Lolly, you _do_ know you have wings, right?" Atticus asked.

"Oh... Of course... This'll be a breeze!" Princess Lolly smiled as she walked up the bridge as it seemed to have a bigger gap up close. She then giggled before flying herself across with ease.

"You're next, Jolly." Patch said.

Jolly soon turned into a kangaroo and hopped over.

"At least it's not Kangaroo Jack?" Cherry smirked with a small shrug.

"Alright, Jib, you're next." Patch said.

"I'm on it..." Jib smiled as he nodded and soon ran over and jumped across the bridge with ease, but he soon lost his balance. "Whoa!"

"Jib!" Princess Lolly cried out.

Jib soon fell right into the chocolate swamp.

"Oh, no! Jib!" Patch panicked.

"Jib!" Mint cried out.

"He's stuck!" Princess Lolly yelped. "We gotta do something!"

"Please help me!" Jib cried out as he was stuck.

"How do we get him out?" Rancis asked.

"There must be someway." Cherry replied as she didn't want to give up just yet.

"Mr. Mint! Please help him!" Princess Lolly cried out.

"Yeah, you can use your candy cane!" Pupcake told Mint.

"It'll have to do." Mint replied as he soon took out his candy cane.

Lord Licorice was soon heard coming.

"Oh, come on!" Cherry complained.

Mint looked worried about that.

"Hurry up!" Cherry told him. "We're losing time!"

"Yeah, and unwanted company is coming!" Atticus added.

"I want that scepter!" Lord Licorice glared.

"Jib, grab hold!" Mint called out as he took out his candy cane for the gingerbread boy to grab onto to be pulled up into safety.

Jolly soon dived in to save Jib as he morphed into a dolphin. Jib soon tried to grab onto Mr. Mint's candy cane to save himself from the chocolate swamp, only for him to fall.

"This is bad..." Cherry grabbed on her hair in a frenzy. "Atticus, now what?!"

"Go on ahead, you guys, go!" Jib told the others as it seemed hopeless for him.

"No way! We're not leaving you!" Strawberry told him.

Princess Lolly soon handed her scepter to Gloyd before she jumped over the bridge to help the gingerbread boy. "I'm coming, Jib!"

"She's really amazing." Gloyd had hearts in his eyes about Princess Lolly.

"I don't think it'll work out between you guys," Swizzle smirked. "She is a princess and you're a prankster."

"Besides, I thought you had your eyes for her older sister." Rancis told Gloyd.

"Meh, I can dream." Gloyd shrugged.

Rancis and Swizzle sweat-dropped to that.

"You realize you'll have to choose, right?" Swizzle asked Gloyd.

"...I guess..." Gloyd replied.

"That is, if they aren't already engaged like in arranged marriages." Rancis then said.

"Bleh! Arranged marriage," Vanellope stuck her tongue out. "We may not be programmed to grow up, but I am so not using arranged marriage since I'm The President/Princess of Sugar Rush."

"And that's a good thing." Swizzle said.

"Oh, um, r-righto." Rancis smiled nervously to Vanellope since she was right next to him.

"Hold on!" Princess Lolly told Jib as she came to save him. She soon saw something to grab onto as Jolly morphed into a floaty.

* * *

"Ooh, what a fine time." Lord Licorice smirked as he stood over the others on the bridge.

"Oh, buzz off!" Mo told him.

Lord Licorice soon kicked them all into the chocolate swamp.

"Leave my friends alone!" Vanellope glared.

"Oh, great, it's you." Lord Licorice glared back.

"You are just twisting my Twizzlers, you son of a glitch!" Vanellope scowled.

"Now, now... Is that any way to talk to your uncle?" Lord Licorice replied.

"I don't care if you're my uncle; I don't want anything to do with you!" Vanellope glared as she started to glitch.

Lord Licorice soon went to lunge out for her to grab her. Suddenly, Vanellope glitched around like she would in Sugar Rush almost like she had a special ability to teleport, and where Lord Licorice missed her as he crashed on the ground.

"Uh, is your friend okay?" Strawberry asked her cousin.

"Oh, that's right!" Taffyta replied. "Vanellope's a glitch back home, and it looks like she can glitch here too!"

"Well, Candy Land is apart of Sugar Rush." Rancis said in clarification.

"...I guess that's a good point." Taffyta replied.

"What? But how did you do that?" Lord Licorice asked her.

"I... I dunno, I just do." Vanellope replied as she hid away from him the best that she could.

Lord Licorice soon saw the lollipop scepter. Vanellope also looked to it and the two seemed to glare to each other upon getting the lollipop scepter. The two of them soon raced for it.

"You best stay out of my way, girly!" Lord Licorice glared to Vanellope.

"Never!" Vanellope glared back.

"Don't let him get the scepter!" Princess Lolly told Vanellope.

"I won't!" Vanellope promised.

A Licorice Bite soon tripped her, making her fall into the chocolate swamp before it got the scepter for Lord Licorice.

"Aw, come on!" Vanellope complained.

"Not so tough now, are ya, little crumb snatcher?" Lord Licorice smirked. "Well, all of you enjoy your swim! I'm due at the castle to take over Candy Land! Ta-ta!" he then laughed as he walked off with his Licorice Bites in victory.

"We can't let him get away with the scepter!" Rancis told them.

"We've got to get out of here!" Princess Lolly added.

"Yeah, before a monster or something shows up." Minty shivered.

"Oh, please, like some monster actually lives here." Cherry scoffed.

"Then why do I feel something moving?" Patch asked.

"Maybe it's your stomach." Cherry replied.

They soon heard growling with some bubbles beneath the swamp.

"...Uh... I'm sure it's nothing." Cherry said, trying to keep calm.

"I sure hope you're right." Taffyta said.

Eventually, someone came out of the swamp, revealing to be a monster.

"...I'm not gonna say anything." Cherry muttered to herself.

The monster seemed to growl at them which made them all panic.

"Don't eat us!" Rancis panicked.

The monster held out its arms as he came closer.

"Hey... He's not gonna hurt us... I think I know what he needs." Patch smiled as he soon swam up to the chocolate monster.

"What are you doing?!" Cherry panicked.

"I don't think he's gonna hurt us, Cherry," Patch smiled. "I think I know what he needs."

"Wait!" Cherry told him. "Look, Patch, I know we've had our differences, but I couldn't live with myself if you didn't make it out alive!"

"Patch, please, don't throw your life away!" Mo begged.

"Hey, big guy, you want a hug?" Patch smiled. "Come here."

The monster looked to Patch and they soon shared a hug.

"I'm just glad chocolate won't poison me anymore thanks to Cherry's friend, Willy Wonka." Patch smiled to the monster.

"Wait, that's all that monster wanted?" Cherry asked. "A hug?"

"Come on, everybody!" Patch smiled to the others. "Team hug!"

"Alright." Atticus said.

"Uh, I think I'll just hang out here." Cherry said as she tried to exclude herself from the hug. She soon saw the monster pouting. Cherry turned her head.

"Aw, come on, Geeky," Vanellope said. "One hug's not gonna kill ya."

"He's fine." Cherry replied.

"Oh, come on, Cherry!" The others begged.

Cherry sighed sharply. "Fine..." she then crawled over to the chocolate swamp monster and held out her arms. "Get in here."

The monster smiled and soon grabbed her into a smothering hug.

"Good thing you're made of chocolate." Cherry muffled.

"And I guess he's not so bad." Vanellope smiled.

"Guh..." Cherry groaned as she was a big mess right now.

"I don't know your name, big fella, but we'd really appreciate if you could help," Jib smiled to the chocolate monster. "We've got to warn the King! Lord Licorice is going to turn everything into licorice!"

"Yeah, we'd really appreciate your help." Mo added.

The chocolate monster soon nodded to the idea of helping them and put them on the ground away from the swamp.

"Thanks," Mint smiled. "You're kinda gloppy, but it's been fun!"

"Yeah, and you're tastey." Cherry said.

The chocolate monster soon hugged her and planted a kiss right on her.

"Whoa! Ugh... Okay... Thanks..." Cherry muttered.

"Come on, we have to hurry." Patch said.

"Coming!" Cherry called out as she soon went to join them.

The chocolate monster smiled and waved as they continued their quest in Candy Land.

* * *

"This is so much fun." Gloyd smiled.

"I just hope we make it to the castle in time!" Vanellope replied.

"We will, Your Highness, I just know it!" Strawberry said to her.

"Aw, don't call me Your Highness, call me Vanellope!" Vanellope replied.

"Um, okay, Vanellope." Strawberry said.

"You got a lot to learn, Strawberry Shortcake." Vanellope hid a small smirk.

"I guess I do." Strawberry said.

Cherry soon took out a checklist of people she had met on various adventures, and added Strawberry's name to the list as they hurried to the Candy Castle.

"Let's hope we'll stop him in time." Swizzle said.

"I'm counting on it." Minty said to him, a bit worriedly.

As they got to to the Candy Castle, it almost looked as though they were too late.


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh, no..." Strawberry frowned.

"We're too late..." Jubileena said.

"Totally bogus!" Snowanna complained.

"We can't give up just yet." Patch said.

"What can we do though?" Candle Head asked. "Lord Licorice already sent out some licorice ropes for the castle!"

"There has to be something we can do." Mo said.

"Vanellope ate the licorice vines last time." Patch commented.

"Well, I am not eating _any_ of that." Cherry grumbled.

"Would you like Candy Land to become Licorice Land? " Atticus asked her.

"...Well, no..." Cherry admitted. "But you know licorice makes me sick."

"Oh, right..." Atticus said.

"Listen, Geeky, I hate licorice too, but I had to gnaw my way out to get away from Lord Loony, so you can too!" Vanellope replied.

"Ugh..." Cherry groaned as she hated this already.

"How do we stop Lord Licorice?" Patch asked.

"Say, some of us are still chocolatey..." Cherry said. "What if we pretend to be a monster from the Chocolate Swamp and scare Lord Licorice? He looks more like a coward than a cold-hearted villain to me."

"That just might work." Atticus said.

"I hope it does," Cherry replied. "Call me a skeptic, but this villain doesn't look as bad as the other bad guys we've faced over the years."

"Too true." Atticus nodded.

They soon went to try out Cherry's plan as Lord Licorice began to rule over Candy Land.

 _'Here goes nothing.'_ Cherry thought to herself.

Lord Licorice looked around before turning around to see a 'chocolate monster'. This scared Lord Licorice and his Bites before they began to run off as the clock was ticking for The Sweet Celebration. Eventually, the chocolate wiped off to reveal Mr. Mint and Jolly.

"HA! Knew it would work." Cherry smirked.

"Uh, Cherry?" Patch called.

Lord Licorice growled once he saw who the monster really was before he smirked. "Nice try, troublesome treats!"

"Oh, you can not be serious!" Cherry glared.

A gumball was soon rolling down which made Princess Lolly and Jib gasp.

"Now, let me hear the sweet sound of that gong!" Lord Licorice smiled evilly to his Licorice Bites.

Atticus soon took out his spell phone and answered it. "Drell, sir, now's not a good time." he then said.

"You don't understand, I've found Vanellope's parents!" Drell replied.

"Then teleport them here now!" Atticus told him. "Maybe they can stop this!"

"Uh, well... I can't exactly teleport them over right now," Drell replied. "You have to come find them."

"Drell, the Sweet Celebration is at stake!" Atticus told him as flew off to try and stop the last gumball.

"But you don't understand, they can't leave the arcade!" Drell replied. "Look, what if I helped you guys since you're in a lot of trouble? I haven't been to Candy Land since Phoebe's last birthday."

"But Candy Land is part of Sugar Rush!" Atticus told him.

"Okay, you're not listening to me, I'm coming over there." Drell said before hanging up.

* * *

Atticus soon used his magic to keep the last gumball from landing. Drell soon used his own magic to appear in front of everyone, and he seemed to have a bowling shirt on, though he looked a little grumpy. Even more than usual. He soon saw that Atticus was keeping the final gumball from ending the Sweet Celebration.

"You miserable little cavity!" Lord Licorice glared to Atticus.

"You're not ruining Candy Land as long as I'm around!" Atticus glared back.

"Okay, I'm now understanding why you wanted me to bring them here." Drell said to Atticus.

"Well, why don't you?!" Atticus asked.

"I can't, they're stuck in the arcade!" Drell told them. "You guys are due for another adventure in Litwak's arcade!"

"Which game are they in?" Mo asked.

"You have to come with me, then I'll tell you." Drell told them.

"What's with the bowling shirt?" Cherry asked then.

"Part of the reason why I'm steamed," Drell replied. "It's my bowling night."

"Ohh." The others replied.

"Uh... Well... We're not in trouble, right?" Cherry smiled nervously.

Drell didn't say anything and walked away from her.

"Answer me!" Cherry begged.

"Not for the moment." Drell told her.

"Stop riddling us!" Cherry cried out. "It's annoying and evil when Edward Nygma does it, why do you think it's any better if you do it?!"

"Nice work with the gumball, Atticus," Drell said. "That should be enough time to save The Sweet Celebration... Ugh... This whole place is gonna give me cavities again."

"Hello, Drell." Lord Licorice glared.

"Ah... Lord Licorice..." Drell replied. "Long time no see," He soon saw what Lord Licorice had. "Ah... What a nice lollipop scepter..." he then smirked. "Shall I take it back to its rightful owner?"

"NO!" Lord Licorice glared.

"I think I will." Drell smirked as he used his full strength to take it back.

Lord Licorice tried to hold onto the scepter.

"Whoops!" Drell smirked as he lifted it up which made Lord Licorice fall flat on his face. "Clumsy you."

"Oh, come on!" Lord Licorice complained.

Drell soon returned the scepter to Princess Lolly.

"Wow... Thank you, sir!" Princess Lolly said.

"Consider it my greatest honor." Drell told her, sounding nice for once.

"Shall I release it now?" Atticus asked.

"Hmm... Is it getting too hard for you?" Drell smirked as he teased.

"DRELL!" Atticus cried out.

"Knock yourself out, kid." Drell replied.

Atticus soon let the gumball go as Princess Lolly had the scepter back. Jolly soon morphed into a pair of scissors to free King Kandy from the licorice ropes which tied him up. Princess Lolly waved to her father and older sister as she came into the circle with her lollipop scepter.

"She's making her father and sister so proud." Drell smiled.

"Everyone, present your gifts!" King Kandy smiled to his people.

* * *

The people of Candy Land soon gathered around to donate something to the Sweet Celebration once Princess Lolly did what she needed to do. Drell began to make sure that everyone had presented their gifts. Mr. Mint gave his peppermint stick, Jolly gave his candy hearts, Granma Nutt brought out some peanuts in a lovely basket.

The others soon joined in with a special looking jar, a chocolate bunny, a muffin, a wrapped up jawbreaker, a truffle, and a small chocolate cake. The Sugar Rush racers soon joined in by giving their best possessions which collaborated with their designs and character types. Adorabeezle gave a red and green peppermint, Candle Head gave saltwater taffy, Crumbelina gave animal crackers, Gloyd gave candy corn, Jubileena gave cherry-dipped Chocolate Kisses, Rancis gave chocolate peanut butter cups, Snowanna gave grape candy scented gumballs, Swizzle gave a hard candy known as Jolly Ranchers, and Taffyta gave some heart-shaped candies like you see during Valentine's Day.

 _'Looks like everyone is doing their part.'_ Drell thought to himself.

Vanellope reached into her hair and took out her hair ribbon which was a sweet red licorice stick and decided to include it in the Sweet Celebration. Drell saw what Vanellope did and smiled as that was very thoughtful of her. Once Vanellope did that, her hair fluffed down behind her ears and on her shoulders.

"That's a good look for you." Taffyta commented.

"Thanks, Taffyta." Vanellope replied.

Lord Licorice, King Kandy, and Granma Nutt soon saw how similar Vanellope now looked like her mother.

"Your gifts are graciously welcomed." King Kandy said after he put his scepter in with Princess Frostine's.

"Wait, we're missing one offering." Princess Frostine told her father.

Drell began to count the offerings to see if someone's offering was missing.

"Hmm... There is one space..." he then said. "But what's missing?"

Jib poked his head out shyly.

"Come on, Jib, it's your turn." Patch told the gingerbread boy.

Mint soon picked up Jib to let him have his turn.

"I have nothing left," Jib frowned as he looked into his bag. "I failed you, Mother!"

"But Jib there is still some frosting left, right?" Pupcake asked.

"None that I can see." Jib frowned.

Pupcake soon checked the bag and where he saw that Jib was right.

"Jib, if you hadn't sacrificed your icing, your friends would still be in danger," Princess Lolly smiled to the gingerbread boy. "You saved the day!"

"Wrong, Lolly," Jib frowned. "Look, I have no gift to offer."

They soon heard Lord Licorice laughing. Drell looked over with a small growl.

"How perfect!" Lord Licorice smirked to Jib. "You've wasted your icing and now the celebration is ruined! Now nothing will bloom!"

Jib sniffled as he felt terrible right now. "I'm so sorry!" he then cried out before falling to his knees and broke down crying.

Patch frowned for his gingerbread friend.

"Drell, can't we do something?" Cherry asked the warlock.

"Trust me, this is gonna be worth it." Drell told her with an actual smile.

"How is this okay?!" Cherry asked. She got her answer as the huge circle began to glow.

Drell crossed his arms with a smirk.

"...I'll shut up now." Cherry muttered.

"What's happening?" Patch asked.

"What does it look like? Jib is helping The Sweet Celebration." Drell replied.

"What?!" The others asked him as the circle began to glow because of that.

"Jib!" Princess Lolly called out happily which got his attention which soon turned to confusion.

"Jib, my boy, you are the gift!" King Kandy smiled. "We all said that Candy Land blooms because of what you bring, but this young man has shown us that it blooms because of who you are. You, all of you, are a Sweet Circle!"

"Ohh." The others smiled.

"I knew Jib was special from the moment I first met him." Patch smiled.

"Just like I have with Vanellope," Rancis said. "Uh, speaking of which, Vanellope... I... I..."

Vanellope looked to him.

"Peppermintyriffic!" Mint smiled, happy for Jib.

Swizzle soon got Rancis closer to Vanellope. Minty soon began to do the same to Vanellope to get her to Rancis.

"Rancis, what're ya tryin' to say?" Vanellope asked.

"Vanellope von Schweetz, ever since our game was first programmed into Litwak's Arcade, I found you to be very amazing, and don't get me started about that time with Turbo when he tried to delete your code and wipe your existence away from our memories," Rancis soon spat out. "And there's something that I've been meaning to tell you since the day I've met you. I, Rancis Fluggerbutter, LOVE YOU!"

'Finally.' Swizzle thought to himself.

"You love me?" Vanellope asked.

"Yes... More than words can say... And you play a song in my heart whenever I'm near you." Rancis said.

"What song would that be?" Vanellope asked.

"HIT IT!" Rancis called as pop music began to play.

 _'I knew there would be a song involved.'_ Drell thought to himself.

* * *

Everyone looked around as Vanellope sat on stage beside Rancis as he took a microphone before singing to her.

"My girl's like candy, a candy treat, She knocks me high up off my feet, She's so fine, as can be, I know this girl is meant for me~" Rancis rapped before he got into the song to show how he really felt about the Princess of Sugar Rush. "Vanellope, You are my world When you're with me, You brighten up my day, All I know, When I'm with you, You make me feel so good, through and through, The way you walk, and the way you talk, You always look so good, you make forget my thoughts~"

Vanellope just knew that this song was truly from Rancis's heart.

"Do you really love me?~" Vanellope soon sang back to him. "Don't you really care? Do you really need me And will you always be there?~"

"Every night and every day~," Rancis continued to sing. "I'm always thinking of you in every way, All I know, When I'm with you, You make me feel so good, Through and through, Vanellope, you are my world~"

"You're everything, everything, everything to me~" Swizzle chorused.

"Vanellope, what I want to say~" Rancis sang.

"I need your love, each and everyday!" Gloyd chorused with Swizzle.

 _'I just know this will end perfectly.'_ Drell thought to himself.

Rancis soon finished up as he took Vanellope's hands. Instead of saying thank you for the song, Vanellope stood on her tiptoes and then gave him a kiss right on the lips, and where that was all Rancis needed. Everyone then cheered and celebrated for both the Sweet Celebration and for Rancis and Vanellope now becoming a couple. Mint soon helped the others up onto the Sweet Circle which made Princess Lolly smiled as she soon put her scepter in to make the celebration official as she was trusted with the job as the princess of Candy Land.

"Lookit!" Vanellope pointed out to the licorice vines which seemed to go away from that.

"Looks like they're going away." Patch said.

"Wow! A new road!" Jib smiled.

"Lollipops." Mo added.

A new path and world was created right in Candy Land from the Sweet Celebration's victory.

"No, no, no!" Lord Licorice cried out in defeat. "Oh, lollipops..."

Princess Lolly smiled as she set her scepter on Jib in thanks as the people of Candy Land cheered.

"Alright, now should be a good time to get you all back to Sugar Rush, and luckily, this path leads back to video game." Drell said.

"Really?" The others asked him.

"Would I deceive you?" Drell replied. He soon saw some looks that looked like he would. He then looked away from them.

"Where's our next mission?" Cherry asked.

"Like I said, Litwak's." Drell replied.

"That's easy." Atticus said.

"How do you know about Litwak's Arcade anyway?" Cherry asked.

"I take my niece and nephew there all the time," Drell replied. "Besides, you really think I lose track of your many adventures?"

"I thought you might eventually." Cherry shrugged.

"Nope, I don't." Drell shook his head.

"Hmm~..." Cherry replied.

"Also, I'm gonna be having my hands full for a while with my niece Phoebe..." Drell sighed and rolled her eyes.

"How's that?" Atticus asked.

"Her tutor quit and now her mother is making me look for someone to help educate her." Drell replied.

"Why not send her to a school?" Mo replied.

"Because we don't know if school is right for her," Drell shrugged. "She hasn't been to school since Nursery School, and she caused some experienced teachers to retire, which did not go well at all."

"Yikes." Mo said.

"Who's volunteering at an elementary school sometime soon?" Drell asked.

Atticus and Mo both raised their hands.

"Good luck." Drell said.

"Thanks, we think." Atticus replied.

"So, do you know where Vanellope's parents are?" Mo asked.

"Do you people not listen to me?" Drell complained. "Go. To. Litwak's. Arcade. For another. Adventure. With. Wreck-it Ralph."

"Alright." The others said.

"Now then, let me take you back home." Drell then told them.

"Alright." Atticus said.

"This was nice, guys, but it's time for us to go." Patch said to their new friends of Candy Land.

"Yeah." Mo added.

"Will you come back for a visit?" Princess Lolly replied.

"Maybe someday," Patch smiled. "It was really nice to meet all of you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Patch." Jib smiled back.

"You be a good gingerbread boy now." Patch smiled.

"Will do," Jib smiled back. "Thank you so much for being a good friend to me."

"No problem." Patch smiled back.

They soon shared a hug with each other before separating since this adventure was over. Soon enough, Drell used his magic to teleport them. They were all soon back at Cherry's house once Candy Land was done and over with.


	10. Chapter 10

"That adventure makes me wanna brush my teeth." Cherry muttered from the sugary sweetness of Candy Land.

"Just wait 'til you meet the Care Bears." Drell said.

"That's kid stuff," Cherry replied. "Care Bears aren't real." She would be proven wrong later on.

"Now... If you'll all excuse me... I'll call you later..." Drell told them as he magicked up a bowling ball. "I gotta go."

"Um, good luck." Atticus said politely.

"I'll deal with _you_ after the game." Drell told him before teleporting away.

"Ooh... Busted... Ooh~" Cherry smirked to Atticus.

"Oi." Atticus groaned.

Cherry chuckled to him with a small smirk.

"You don't know I'm in trouble, it could be you." Atticus smirked back.

"...He looked at you...?" Cherry replied nervously.

A random message soon appeared and when Cherry opened it she smirked at Atticus as she had him read what it said she looked smug. "'Atticus, report to my office immediately, or else'." Atticus read aloud.

"I guess you are busted." Cherry smirked.

"Dang it." Atticus sighed before teleporting away.

Cherry chuckled a bit while she stayed behind with the others who gave her a look and she then cleared her throat with a nervous smile as that seemed like an inappropriate response.

* * *

Meanwhile with Atticus as he appeared in Drell's office.

Drell looked over his paperwork as Atticus soon came inside and sat down in the chair in front of the warlock's desk. "How do you feel?" he then asked him.

"This place scares me." Atticus replied.

"Perfect." Drell smirked.

"So, um, why did you want me here?" Atticus gulped.

"Well, I'm a little mad you interrupted my one night off during the week while with the other Supernatural Figures." Drell began.

"I am so sorry." Atticus told him.

"You also talked back to me." Drell said.

"When did I do-" Atticus began to ask.

"You also in interrupted me."

"I'm sure I didn't mean to-"

"You wouldn't listen to me."

"When didn't I listen to you?! And as for interrupting you, when did I do that?! And when did I talk back to you?!" Atticus glared.

"Right now." Drell smirked.

"Touche." Atticus groaned.

"How inconsiderate the future is." Drell sighed.

"Ugh..." Atticus sighed. "Whatever punishment you wanna give me, just get it over with. Just don't take it out on the others."

"Hmm... I guess you could keep an eye on my niece when she gets to her new school..." Drell replied. "I found a school with a group of kids I think she can befriend. She's a sweet girl, but she could use some friends her own age, it's hard for her to make friends in The Other Realm."

"Yes, sir." Atticus said.

Drell then slid over a class picture from the school he wanted his niece to join. "Miss Othmar's third grade class." he then said.

"Let me see," Atticus said before taking a look at the students. "Wait a sec... This is Charlie Brown and his friends!"

"Ah, so you've met them." Drell said.

"Yeah," Atticus replied. "Darla's friend Amber made it to a spelling bee competition, and met them, then my little cousin Dot wanted to go to a place called Camp Remote. Boy, those 'We're number one' campers were such jerks!"

"I bet you showed them up." Drell smirked.

"Oh, Drell, you should've seen it!" Atticus smirked as he stood up in the chair, shaking his fists. "I showed them a thing or two, especially when they pushed around Dot and made her cry! Nobody messes with MY family, especially with my favorite little cousin! Oh, we smoked those bullies like hot dogs on a campfire!"

"That's what I thought." Drell smirked back.

Atticus looked over and soon sat down, clearing his throat. "Erm... I handled it like a mature adult," he then said, trying to sound grown-up. "So, uh, why hasn't Phoebe gone to school before?" he then wondered.

"Well, it's mostly because of her magic," Drell replied. "Her parents thought of sending her to Spellementary School, but... Well... It's just hard to get Phoebe to sit down and focus for a long time, so that's why we had to give her a tutor who would come and see her, but he finally had enough. I'm not sure about sending her to school, but I feel like that might be the only option for her."

"Sounds like it." Atticus said.

"Hard to say when her first day will be though," Drell replied. "What with the winter season coming, and there's already a new student going to join that class as well. I believe her name is Heather Wold, she's a cute little redheaded girl."

"I have a feeling Charlie Brown will fall head over heals for her." Atticus said.

"Maybe..." Drell replied. "She is kinda cute for a little girl."

"Do you have a photo of her?" Atticus asked.

Drell took a look in his files before taking out a picture of a cute little redheaded girl who was around his niece's age.

"Yep, Charlie Brown is definitely gonna fall in love with her." Atticus guessed.

"I think so too," Drell replied. "So, think you can keep an eye on my niece?"

"I'm sure I can," Atticus shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

"She's _my_ niece." Drell reminded.

"Um... Right..." Atticus replied. "At least she's not like Sabrina's cousin, Amanda... I still remember that time she tricked us into becoming her dolls and she was gonna keep us there forever. That girl is just as wicked as Ethel Hallow from Miss Cackle's Academy."

"No argument here." Drell said.

"You don't even like Amanda?" Atticus asked.

"NO ONE likes Amanda!" Drell replied. "Every Halloween I go out with the Spellman family for the reunion, I just wanna vaporize that little snot!"

"Yikes." Atticus winced.

"Erm... Sorry..." Drell smiled bashfully, tapping his knuckles together. "I guess my ego got in the way again."

Atticus playfully rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, be ready when the time comes." Drell said.

"When will that be?" Atticus asked.

"And your time is up." Drell said before sending him back home.

"Whoa!" Atticus yelped.

"Bye~" Drell smiled and waved.

"I hate it when you do this!" Atticus cried out and soon came back home with the others.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Mo asked.

"Pretty much, we're babysitting Drell's niece in school," Atticus replied. "On the plus side, she might be going to school with Charlie Brown and his friends."

"That _is_ a plus side." Patch said.

"Maybe you can hang out with Snoopy." Atticus smiled.

"Yeah." Patch smiled back.

"Well, I'm going home." Cherry said.

"Isn't this _your_ house?" Atticus smirked.

"...Good point," Cherry replied. " _You're_ going home."

"That's right." Atticus nodded.

Cherry hid a small smirk.

"Looks like the kids might be due for a snow day sometime soon." Atticus smiled.

"Looks like it." Patch said.

Everyone soon went their separate ways as they finished another adventure, though Cherry wondered more about Vanellope and Ralph, but that would have to be another story for another time.

The End


End file.
